Subscription-based entertainment is really common nowadays, with companies like Netflix and Spotify making billions by offering people unlimited access to a bunch of content for a small monthly fee, but one area where the subscription model hasn’t really picked up is gaming. I’m not talking about paying $15/month for World of Warcraft, I’m talking about paying a monthly fee to be able to play a decent sized roster of games without having to actually buy them. Fortunately, such a service might actually be coming sometime soon, if a recent survey from EA is anything to go by.
A survey sent out on behalf of EA hints at a possible PC game subscription service plan well beyond what EA Access, Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus currently offer. The survey, sent by marketing firm Chadwick Martin Bailey, hints at a subscription service encompassing releases from numerous game publishers. The implication seems to be that EA are considering a service where a monthly fee grants access to numerous games. The full survey has been posted on imgur. Along with EA, games from Ubisoft, Take Two Interactive, Activision and Bethesda are explicitly mentioned. The survey asks players how much they would pay and how long after initial release they would like to see games uploaded, among other questions. There is no mention of consoles made. Obviously, there’s nothing concrete here – EA are merely gauging interest and consumer willingness to pay for a service like this. At the same time though, this survey suggests that discussions are likely to be taking place between publishers. We’ll have more on this if it develops further.
