• Table of Contents
  • Intro
  • Stellaris’ DLC subscription
  • Vexing the players

Intro

Paradox Interactive is well-known for the ridiculous amount of DLC shoved into the games developed or published by the company. This often reaches into ridiculous numbers and now that the subscription model has been introduced to multiple titles, it has arrived to Stellaris, which will likely make a lot of players unhappy.

Stellaris’ DLC subscription

With the new subscription model, Stellaris will charge players on a per-month basis, with the bigger bulks offering better deals but you have to measure whether you will be interested in the game for so long.

• 1 Month: $10 / €10
• 3 Months: $20 / €20
• 6 Months: $30 / €30

The game had €306,77 worth of DLC at the time of writing so subscribing with €10 for a single month may sound like a good idea. However, keep in mind that after the month expires, you will lose access and will have to pay again if you get a yearning at some point down the road. Additionally, subscription services change their pricing over time and it is not out of the realm of possibility that this one will become more expensive should more content be released or even if it just proves popular.

Vexing the players

It goes without saying but this is an absolute kick in the jewels for the players who already purchased the insane amount of DLC Stellaris dropped in the past 8 years. People who paid hundreds of Euro or USD are now left without consolation while someone else will get all the same content for far less. In order to equalize the cost for new players who subscribe and veterans who bought the DLC, the new ones would have to subscribe for 5 years at $/€ 30 per 6 months to pay as much as the veterans.

There is also another group of players who sees the push for the subscription model for what it is and they are not happy either. Should the subscriptions start beating purchases in total revenue, we could be heading down a path where we “own” even less of a game in the future. Technically, we don’t own any games now either unless they are DRM-free but we do own a license to play them. With a full subscription model, even than miniscule bit of ownership will slip away.