Experience Points: Subscription Suicide

Each week, Chris "Syeric" Coke gives his unfiltered thoughts on the MMO industry. Taking on the news and hottest topics, Chris brings his extensive experience as a player and blogger to bear in Experience Points. This week he looks at why subscriptions may be a bad choice for The Elder Scrolls Online and Wildstar.

Last week, the MMO community was collectively blown back on its heels as Zenimax announced that The Elder Scrolls Online would adopt a subscription business model. This came only hours after developers at Carbine announced the same for WildStar, the highly anticipated sci-fi MMO coming early next year. With Final Fantasy XIV's lessened subscription model added to the mix, players are rightly asking whether free-to-play was a fad now falling by the wayside. Are these three games heralds of the changing tide? I don't think so and here's why.