Sega Considers Starting Own Game Subscription Service

Sega is “evaluating” starting its own game subscription service, the company’s president told the BBC.

Sega president Shuji Utsumi, speaking ahead of the release of the third Sonic the Hedgehog film, said game subscription products were “very interesting” and that the firm was “evaluating some opportunities”.

“We’re thinking something – and discussing something – we cannot disclose right now,” he said.

Utsumi’s comments come after Sega delisted many of its older titles from various digital storefronts in early December, according to game industry reports.

Subscription plan

It is unclear whether the delisting of older games such as Golden Axe, Crazy Taxi, Altered Beast is connected with Sega’s as-yet unnanounced plans.

The games were removed from Valve’s Steam digital distribution service as well as online storefronts operated by console makers, reports said.

The gaming industry has been steadily shifting toward streaming services, which allow users to access a varied range of games depending on the price of the monthly subscription they pay.

Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass and Sony’s PlayStation Plus are two of the best-known services, with prices ranging from £6.99 to £14.99 for Game Pass and £6.99 to £13.49 for PlayStation Plus.

Nintendo also offers an online subscription service, as do game developers EA and Ubisoft.

EA Play is included with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, while Ubisoft Plus Classics is included with PlayStation Plus’ Extra and Premium tiers, suggesting Sega could similarly seek a bundled offering.

Cloud gaming

Microsoft’s purchase of Activision, which finally concluded in October of last year, was initially opposed by some regulators over fears that Microsoft could use Activision’s popular games to unfairly tip the balance in cloud gaming, an emerging technology that allows users to play games running on a remote server.

Xbox Cloud Gaming is provided to users of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at no extra charge.

Microsoft finally opted to buy Activision while excluding cloud gaming rights.

In October Microsoft for the first time made a new Activision Call of Duty videogame title available immediately on Game Pass, in a major move to advance the subscription business model.