LogInTunic publisher expresses concerns over the future of indie titles on subscription services like Game Pass and PS Plus.
Subscription services like PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass have been quite popular with gamers lately, especially because they offer users a wide selection of video games – from lesser-known indie titles to major hits – at a reduced cost.
And while some developers also acknowledge the perks of these services saying that they helped promote their titles or even that their games wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for Game Pass or PS Plus, others seem to be less positive about the possible outcomes that subscription services might bring.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Bekah Saltsman, the CEO of indie publisher Finji, which recently helped launch the critically acclaimed title Tunic, expressed her worries about the potential for indie game developers to be excluded from subscription services in the future.
Saltsman explained that the concern stems from the fact that these services continue to expand and acquire larger user bases and that they may not have a need for independent developers anymore.
"My concern is that because the libraries are so big and the companies are so prolific with huge user bases, that they won't need us," Saltsman said. "Subscriptions are both awesome and terrifying at the same time, and it could go either way. And I worry most for the smaller indie teams who maybe don't have an early foothold as creators, that they may not have the space and the money to make more than one game."
"That's a legit math question because you don't know how it's going to fall," she said. "We can't ignore the fact that [platform holders] are huge companies run by lots of people looking at spreadsheets. And I'm always concerned about [what people do] many levels up staring at spreadsheets, and what it means for teams my size or even smaller than me, because we don't do the numbers that the big teams do. We just don't."
You can learn more about Saltsman's concerns and hopes about the potential impact of subscription-based platforms on the viability of indie games by reading the full interview here.
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