Following an Ubisoft executive’s comments about gamers getting used to not owning games, it’s obvious that this approach will open the floodgates to piracy.
Firstly, the subscription model that Microsoft is openly advocating as being financially viable, may not at all be the case. They are simply trying a find workaround that they think will help them leapfrog over the competition rather than put in the effort to build something properly.
However, executives in publishing are taking Microsoft’s word that this subscription model works and are trying to get on the same imaginary bandwagon.
The issue here, and one that Larian Studios founder Swen Vincke has correctly pointed out, is that ultimately game developers selling directly to gamers is the way forward. More importantly, that quality matters and that there isn’t an elevator to success.
After all, Larian Studios have been steadily working hard on making increasingly better games over a long period of time. Craftsmanship clearly takes effort and time. However, this difficult “tiger soup” approach tends to scare away publisher management, because first you have to catch the tiger.
Gamers are not passive normies either, they are passionate, tech savvy people. The current subscription setups across multiple platforms allow players to buy the games they like. If this option is removed, gamers will simply find other ways to get the games they want. In short, piracy will become the norm.
This reasoning is already hitting hard online, with the sentiment “if purchase isn’t ownership, then piracy isn’t theft”. Gamers, as always, are way ahead of the publishing management curve.
What with all the recent layoffs across gaming companies, publishers are desperately looking for ways to increase revenue. So the idea of a walled garden subscription model with a contained flow of revenue may look attractive, but it is a dangerous step too far and gamers are clearly already ready to react.
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