The entire point of gaming is having fun + escaping reality. Whether it be alone, with friends and/or people you never met before. And said strangers may very well become your besties, one day. The subscription era now feels like the people making the products don’t even understand what they’re selling anymore.

All these companies pushing subscriptions are edging more and more towards the thermocline principal: "In large bodies of water, the temperature drops slowly the deeper you dive. Yet, at a certain point, the water temperature drops sharply. Meet he thermocline: a near-physical barrier where warm water meets cold. The shift is sudden and dramatic. In business, this translates to users accepting gradual changes, without presting too much. Then comes the last price hike/tweak, and all of a sudden sales collapse. This usually is near by impossible to reverse. Trust is broken, and alternatives are adopted.