The video game industry has always been dynamic, but its current direction is unclear, as the high expectations for new distribution and business models may not be met. Moderation is crucial because its an industry that hasnt transitioned as quickly to digital as music, movies, or TV services. In this regard, are subscription services the dominant future? A respected analyst doubts it.
Will subscription services dominate gaming?
Two major controversies this week have arisen from Ubisoft and Larian Studios, creators of Baldurs Gate 3. In the case of the French company, Philippe Tremblay, director of subscriptions at Ubisoft, blatantly stated that the desire is for players to adopt subscription services and forget that they own the games. On the other hand, Larian Studios criticized services like Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus, considering them not beneficial and even dangerous in creative terms.
Respected analyst presents data indicating stagnation in gaming subscription services
These events ignited the debate on subscription services, and Mat Piscatella, an analyst at Circana, revealed that, despite the belief that they could be dominant means of distribution and content consumption, they are far from setting the industry standard as they are currently stagnant, with no significant growth in sight.
Regarding this, the Circana analyst pointed out: "Subscription growth has stalled, and sub-services on console and PC platforms represent only 10% of the total spending on video game content in the United States. I understand that some people want to protect their preferred model, but the idea that subscriptions will become dominant is not supported by data."
Later, Mat Piscatella mentioned: "Subscription services have been more additive than cannibalistic and offer players, developers, and distributors more options on how to play or how to enter the market. Infusing fear about this issue is quite unnecessary."
What do you think about this? Will the industry continue to be governed by traditional models since gaming services are not yielding the expected results?
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