Microsoft brought me back into their ecosystem with Game Pass
I'm primarily a PC gamer with a library slowly approaching 1,000 games on Steam. While I have sometimes bought games through the other storefronts like Blizzard, GOG, Uplay, and EA Origins, I never really invested significant time in them to the point where I don't keep track of what is in those libraries. Suffice to say, I thought that I was so entrenched in Steam that I couldn't possibly play in another storefront for any meaningful amount of time.
This has changed for the past year. I hopped on one of those deals that gave me access to Game Pass since Microsoft added all the Bethesda games and partnered with EA Play. And I gotta say, I'm invested now. Invested so much that I bought a Series X despite having zero interest when the new generation of systems was announced. Game Pass on Xbox is an even better deal than Game Pass on PC. The library is larger and for the games that are Play Anywhere, I can continue my save file on my PC when my living room TV is unavailable.
I really think that Microsoft has a winning strategy with Game Pass this generation and it really surprised me how my attitude to the Xbox ecosystem changed this year. While I think both Sony and Nintendo have great exclusives, the value proposition for me of convenience and a rotating slate of quality games will likely keep me invested and subscribed, moreso than Xbox Gold or PS+ have in the past.
Personally, I think that games, like TV shows and movies, are an area where a subscription makes total sense. Being able to try out a game on your subscription without worrying that you're going to regret spending $30-60 on something you don't like is liberating. I can try stuff I wouldn't have even considered before. And if something I was waiting for turns out to suck, well there's hundreds of other games to try out, so no big deal. Also, like movies and TV shows, I don't re-play very many of them, so owning them doesn't offer me a ton of value. (Your mileage may vary here. I know some people rewatch/replay stuff repeatedly, so ownership makes more sense in that case.)
I agree. Especially in a world of digital games where licenses cannot be transferred to another owner. I often wonder how I can realistically leave my Steam library to a friend if something happened to me but that's not within my rights to do.
And definitely on the ability to try new games out. I would have never tried Monster Train had it not been on Game Pass but since I did and enjoyed it so much, I got three other friends of mine to try it out as well. Then there are the hundreds of games that I bought but didn't care for enough to get close to finishing. Those are a wash on my wallet. And I hardly replay games. If a game is good enough that I want to replay it, by the time that urge comes to me again, the game will likely be considerably cheaper.
You can refund a game in GOG/Steam, if you regret purchasing it. This kinda moots the point of being able to try a game out, no?
I don't see how paying rent instead of buying a license is "liberating". Instead of a one-time exchange, you're stuck with a service provider for as long as you want to use what you rented. Your "landlord" is free to change the terms of the agreement at their whim, cancel the service, shove DRM/malware down your throat, and other similar inconveniences buying is not burdened with.
You can only return a Steam game if you have owned it for less than 14 days and played it for less than 2 hours. GOG is a bit more generous in having a 30 day return policy, and no play-time restriction, but that's only because they sell DRM-free games which they can't track playtime on anyways. Both still reserve the right to refuse refunds for any reason though, which if you start returning a bunch of games is likely to start happening for "abusing" the system.
So return/refund policies, even generous ones, are hardly comparable to being able to try whatever games you want via a subscription service and not ever having to worry about trying to get a refund when you don't enjoy one. Sure, you don't own the games with a subscription service, but how often do you really replay games anyways? And for any that you do want to replay without needing to continue your subscription, you can always just buy them after you make sure you actually enjoy them first. That's why I personally view game subscription services as liberating... since they give me options I didn't have before, and have saved me quite a lot of money in the long run too.
Those aren't really downsides to using subscription services. ToS changes happen even on bought and paid for games—I swear I have to accept a new one for Monster Hunter World every month. DRM is enforced by publishers, no subscription service adds any on top of a game. Even if we're going by the extreme parameter of "storefront checks are DRM!", that's still not something exclusive to subscription services.
So far, the only inconvenience to XGP has been the Windows Store delivery method and file encryption itself. But that's not really a fault of the concept of subscriptions so much as it is how Windows distributes content because it works the same for bought games too.
So in the end, the only net changes to using subscription services instead of buying each game outright are:
I'd say that's a pretty reasonable tradeoff.
Genuinely, I think there are some differences. There's an ease of access thing going on. As Joplin said, they've played games they otherwise wouldn't even have tried. I think there's a mindset with buying, people don't want to take as much of a chance when buying, even with returns. And returns are an added step that can feel complicated (though a lot of stuff now is easier to return than before).
Game pass is giving you access to a library that changes out its games. If you like a game enough, you can purchase it, with a discount as well. The liberation is being able to try new games and take that risk without the hassle and not having to pay upfront for a 60$ game that might turn out to be shit.
For some people, that's a huge benefit to not have to worry about. And I know for others, that might not be that much of an issue.