The video game industry is subject to various trends, as it can often be observed that providers actively seek out and cater to certain trends. As soon as they realise that a certain scheme is well received by players, it is adopted in various games and exploited until the trend has become obsolete.
The gaming subscription trend is currently very widespread and many experts in the industry believe that it will remain so in the long term. Some gaming professionals even believe that gaming subscriptions are the gaming model of the future.
More and more people are playing games – and not just on consoles, but also on PCs, tablets and smartphones. The range of games extends from action shooters to online casino games in Germany – there is no shortage of choice. Subscriptions in the gaming sector are very common in the 2020s, even or especially in online games. But what are the advantages of these subscriptions?
This is the future: games are no longer bought, but simply rented
The advantages are indeed wide-ranging, because if it is a subscription game, players can, for example, expect a constant stream of new games that they can play as part of the subscription. There is also long-term technical support for the game. In addition, financially lucrative games are usually constantly provided with new content by the manufacturers to keep the gaming world alive. In this way, players have access to new material over a long period of time, creating a win-win situation. However, there are various pros and cons to this topic, so it is worth taking a closer look at the issue of gaming subscriptions.
Over the years, it has always been the case that players have bought a video game and were then able to use all of the game’s content. There was no time limit, but usually no updates either. Game expansions such as updates or DLCs are actually still quite new, but have quickly found their way into the hearts of gamers. You could say that DLCs are just as trendy as cloud gaming these days. This also applies to gaming subscriptions. More and more game providers are focussing on these subscription models, and of course there are reasons for this.
Why it is better for providers to offer subscriptions for games
For gaming providers, it is primarily about earning money by selling as many units of a game as possible. For gaming fans, this aspect seems quite unromantic, as they want to enjoy good video games above all, and it should of course also be the endeavour of a gaming studio to develop high-quality games and bring them onto the market. Especially when a video game costs between €60 and €100, the quality and in-game experience must be right. The so-called price-performance ratio is right in most cases, but with some games you realise that they were designed purely to make money.
These games are not designed with much love, so there are hardly any details. Bugs and illogical game content are then part of everyday life and make the game a candidate for the worst game of the year. However, good game developers want to avoid this situation at all costs and therefore work hand in hand with the studio to create good games. For subscription games in particular, it is a good idea to prioritise the quality of the game.
The reason for this is easy to explain, as the providers can benefit financially from such a game in the long term. Instead of players only paying for the game once, depending on the subscription model, the studio receives regular income. Some gaming subscriptions are an insult to players, as they are offered few updates or features. However, there are also many positive examples of why it can be a good idea to rent a video game via a subscription in the future.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of video game subscriptions for gamers?
One of the most notable advantages of a gaming subscription is the fact that the larger games are actually a guarantee of long-term gaming fun. The big studios are keen to profit from the game for as long as possible and if enough players are interested in a subscription, it is likely that new content will be regularly added to the game. This usually happens through expansions, which of course often cost extra. Depending on the amount of extra content, however, it is worthwhile for players to check out these offers and take advantage of them if they like them.
Depending on the success of such a game, however, there is also a considerable disadvantage, as there are unfortunately some gaming studios that do not consider it necessary to provide these money machines with decent new features. As they assume that players will keep the subscription anyway, regardless of the direction in which the game develops, they offer very cheeky subscriptions with weak innovations.
In some cases, a so-called pay-to-win system is even introduced, in which players can set up huge shortcuts by buying overpowered items in a shop, for example. For many gamers, this is a knock-out criterion and they often avoid these games. But that doesn’t matter to the studio as long as enough gamers stick with it and take advantage of the optional purchase offers.
The gaming market will change noticeably in the coming years
In general, it can be said that the gaming market has already changed in recent years because, as already mentioned, the gaming industry is subject to various trends. Games are currently very popular on the Internet, and RPGs, among other things, are enjoying great popularity. But shooters and strategy games are also very popular and attract large numbers of gamers. Numerous games are released every year, so gamers do indeed find a good variety from which they can benefit.
It is likely that the gaming market will expand in two directions in particular over the next few years. Cloud gaming is likely to play a major role, as we can already see that many manufacturers are investing in this area and focusing on the future. However, gaming subscriptions are also likely to become increasingly common in the coming years, as the classic one-off purchase of a game could fade into the background. After all, gaming studios are able to earn significantly more money through subscription models and provide games with new and diverse content for a long time to come.
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