Microsoft considering a Netflix-like service for single player games

In the recent years we have seen a substantial growth of television industry thanks to subscription-based streaming services, like Netflix and HBO GO. Could a similar distribution model also work for video games? That’s what Microsoft is considering. In an interview with The Guardian the head of Xbox and Microsoft Studios Phil Spencer said that the company is thinking about a subscription service for new single player games. It would mean an expansion of what the Game and PlayStation Plus are now – they provide acces only to back-catalogue games. Spencer said:

Because investing into single player only games has become risky, more and more developers are drifting toward a games-as-a-service type of distribution, a recent example of which is the new Hitman.

Nowadays, we see a decline in the number of new single player only games, whose place is being taken over by competitive/co-op multiplayer (see The Walking Dead. The difference is that while Telltale is simply selling season es directly to players, a subscription service would provide a steady income for game developers. While we don’t mind having adventure games split into episodes, would that same model work for RPGs or an open world action game? It’s hard to tell, but the idea surely has potential.

• singleleplayer / campaign
• Xbox Game Studios / Microsoft Gaming
• Phil Spencer
• episodes
• subscriptions
• PC
• XONE