Larian Studios CEO and founder Swen Vincke says a world where all digital games distribution platforms switch to subscription models would be “savage” and that the developers’ games won’t be found on subscription services.
Vincke’s comments are in response to Ubisoft director of subscription Phillipe Tremblay’s discussion with Gamesindustry.biz, where he said that gamers needed to get “comfortable” not owning their games for subscription services to expand, suggesting that the shift was not dissimilar to the way in which video and music streaming services overtook CD and DVD ownership.
In a thread shared to X (formerly Twitter), the Larian Studios CEO said it was “going to be a lot harder to get good content if subscription becomes the dominant model and a select group gets to decide what goes to market and what not. Direct from developer to players is the way.”
Vincke continued, saying it was “almost impossible” to get a board to green-light projects “fuelled by idealism,” but that “idealism needs room to exist, even if it can lead to disaster.” He suggested that subscription models would “always end up being cost/benefit analysis exercises intended to maximise profit.”
“We are already all dependent on a select group of digital distribution platforms and discoverability is brutal,” he said. “Should those platforms all switch to subscription, it’ll become savage. In such a world, by definition, the preference of the subscription service will determine what games get made. Trust me – you really don’t want that.”
“You won’t find our games on a subscription service even if I respect that for many developers it presents an opportunity to make their game,” Vincke said of Larian Studios’ current and future plans. “I don’t have an issue with that. I just want to make sure the other ecosystem doesn’t die because it’s valuable.”
In response to a user comment which suggested that discoverability for games was already an issue for smaller titles not tied to established IPs, Vincke said that a world where subscription models dominated would lead to these games not having “a fighting chance.”
The Larian head previously told IGN that Baldur’s Gate 3 would not be coming to Xbox Game Pass for the same reason. “We made a big game, so I think there’s a fair price to be paid for that, and I think that is okay,” he said last month. “Upfront it’s a big meaty game. So I think that should be able to exist as it is. This is what allows us to continue making other games.”
Subscription models across various forms of media, including games, movies and series, and music have all grown exponentially over the last decade, with discussion around film and television streaming platforms like Netflix intensifying as the month goes on thanks to the growing number of subscriptions users need to have in order to access what they want to watch (and the regular chopping and changing of where these shows and movies reside as contracts end with different providers).
Some have shared their concerns about the preservation of media in a world where original shows and movies can be removed from their own platforms without any physical copies ever being created – and it seems gamers are equally concerned about this, and their ability to access the games they love without having to fork out monthly to be able to play them long-term.
At least for now, it looks like some larger studios like Larian, which released Baldur’s Gate 3 without an external publisher (and went on to win Game of the Year at the Game Awards, amongst a suite of other accolades), are resisting the temptation to dive headfirst into subscription services and models, even if others like Ubisoft are keen to see gamers make the change to not owning the games they play.
What are your thoughts on gaming subscription services? Let us know in the comments.
Image: Larian Studios
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