Subscription models are everywhere these days - and not even sim racing is immune. Unsurprisingly, our community is not exactly thrilled with them, either.
In today's day and age, subscription models have become quite commonplace. There is no escaping it, whether you are a movie buff with streaming services like Netflix or Disney+, or a gamer with the need of a PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live subscription to even play online.
With the cost of living going up all over the world, the practice has become rather unpopular. Sim racing has been no exception to this monetisation method, iRacing perhaps being the most prominent example with an annual subscription typically costing over €100.
We were curious to know where the many within our community would draw the line. So we recently ran a poll - here are the (hardly surprising) results.
In that distant second place is 'I don't like it for hardware', the idea of which is interesting. Whilst not seemingly apparent in sim racing, one example we know of being Primax with their Crystal Light virtual reality headset. To purchase it to begin with costs around $600 but after that, you cannot use it without the appropriate software.
To Primax's credit, they could have quite easily elected for an endless renewal subscription model but instead if consumers opt for the subscription, they do not have to pay more after 24 months. This sets the buyer back just under $12 per month, totalling up to just short of $300 over those two years. Meanwhile if the customer opts for a one-time subscription payment, it comes with a 10% discount to the 24 month cost.
It is quite understandable though that if people are shelling out money to buy the physical product, paying more on top of it to function as intended will probably make people think they are being stiffed. But it is no worse than a hardware subscription where if you decide to not renew it, a bunch of bailiffs will come to repossess the product.
Perhaps it is unsurprising that the option in our poll for those who would accept a subscription for hardware was by far the least selected, receiving less than 2% of the vote.
There are applications available that utilise subscription models, overlay apps (RaceLabs, SDK) or ones that provide players with setups (VRS, Coach Dave) which aim to deliver an enhanced or more convenient experience. Of course, iRacing's subscription model has proven quite unpopular within our community, with the main gripe seemingly being that players have to pay for content that they cannot access if they choose not to resubscribe to the service.
Speaking of sim titles with subscription models built in.
The team behind rF2 and LMU recently revealed their subscription model for their online RaceControl service. Image: Motorsport Games
Le Mans Ultimate's newly revealed online hosting service RaceControl expansion has a bunch of features available to those who pay a subscription. The benefits from this include access to online championships, extended registration to individual races, priority in reporting incidents and getting access to all downloadable content for both LMU and rFactor 2.
With LMU still being in early access, there has been plenty of discourse already regarding the DLC packs being released while the game still technically has not had its full release. So logically, that critique would only be exemplified with a subscription model, and there are probably more than a few people out there unwilling to accept this from a title in early access or open beta.
But if the title is complete and allows players to access content if they have bought it without the subscription, it seems there is some room to experiment with those willing to put their money towards it. However, it is safe to say that if any sim racing title were to release now, it would need to be really worth the price if it utilises a subscription model.
"Project CARS 2 is no longer available, for some they wish to continue playing it and do. If it had been subscription-based, the ROI (return on investment) on running that service would have dropped off and then no one has access to it, and it wouldn't come back. It's worse in sim racing where licences for various race series can be withdrawn - that would be the end of that content in that game."
This argument is incredibly valid, especially considering how the majority of mainstream racing games nowadays are online only, and when the online services for those games are discontinued, the games become inaccessible completely.
Fellow user @Slapped stated what is in their opinion the only conditions in which a subscription is accessible.
"Pay a subscription for a game which in itself is free, but you're paying for access to the continued service. Where subscriptions don't work is where you have to buy the game, and then pay a subscription to use it, or the most egregious form would be for a subscription game to require that you purchase content and then hold that content for ransom behind the paywall."
What are examples of sim racing subscription services that are worth the cost of renewal? Let us know in the comments below and join the discussion on our forums!
In today's day and age, subscription models have become quite commonplace. There is no escaping it, whether you are a movie buff with streaming services like Netflix or Disney+, or a gamer with the need of a PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live subscription to even play online.
With the cost of living going up all over the world, the practice has become rather unpopular. Sim racing has been no exception to this monetisation method, iRacing perhaps being the most prominent example with an annual subscription typically costing over €100.
| Option | Votes | Percentage |
| I don't like it | 707 | 74.7% |
| I don't like it for hardware | 82 | 8.7% |
| I don't like it for software | 80 | 8.4% |
| It's fine for software | 75 | 7.9% |
| It's fine | 72 | 7.6% |
| It's fine for hardware | 17 | 1.8% |
| Other, please comment | 17 | 1.8% |
We were curious to know where the many within our community would draw the line. So we recently ran a poll - here are the (hardly surprising) results.
Overwhelming Majority
Despite options being given to vote okay or not okay for software or hardware, the only result to reach a double digit's value in percentage was "I don't like it" - period. Almost three quarters of the votes were cast for this option, so it is safe assume that this result was perhaps a formality. So for the sake of not just ending it here, we shall look at the other results.In that distant second place is 'I don't like it for hardware', the idea of which is interesting. Whilst not seemingly apparent in sim racing, one example we know of being Primax with their Crystal Light virtual reality headset. To purchase it to begin with costs around $600 but after that, you cannot use it without the appropriate software.
To Primax's credit, they could have quite easily elected for an endless renewal subscription model but instead if consumers opt for the subscription, they do not have to pay more after 24 months. This sets the buyer back just under $12 per month, totalling up to just short of $300 over those two years. Meanwhile if the customer opts for a one-time subscription payment, it comes with a 10% discount to the 24 month cost.
It is quite understandable though that if people are shelling out money to buy the physical product, paying more on top of it to function as intended will probably make people think they are being stiffed. But it is no worse than a hardware subscription where if you decide to not renew it, a bunch of bailiffs will come to repossess the product.
Perhaps it is unsurprising that the option in our poll for those who would accept a subscription for hardware was by far the least selected, receiving less than 2% of the vote.
Software Subscriptions: A Popular Choice
Whilst accepting hardware subscriptions did not get a lot of votes, surprisingly accepting subscription models for software was about as popular as the options with turning down subscriptions for both software and hardware. With the vast range of services available for sim racing, it is no surprise that this has become quite commonplace.There are applications available that utilise subscription models, overlay apps (RaceLabs, SDK) or ones that provide players with setups (VRS, Coach Dave) which aim to deliver an enhanced or more convenient experience. Of course, iRacing's subscription model has proven quite unpopular within our community, with the main gripe seemingly being that players have to pay for content that they cannot access if they choose not to resubscribe to the service.
Speaking of sim titles with subscription models built in.
The team behind rF2 and LMU recently revealed their subscription model for their online RaceControl service. Image: Motorsport Games
Le Mans Ultimate's newly revealed online hosting service RaceControl expansion has a bunch of features available to those who pay a subscription. The benefits from this include access to online championships, extended registration to individual races, priority in reporting incidents and getting access to all downloadable content for both LMU and rFactor 2.
With LMU still being in early access, there has been plenty of discourse already regarding the DLC packs being released while the game still technically has not had its full release. So logically, that critique would only be exemplified with a subscription model, and there are probably more than a few people out there unwilling to accept this from a title in early access or open beta.
But if the title is complete and allows players to access content if they have bought it without the subscription, it seems there is some room to experiment with those willing to put their money towards it. However, it is safe to say that if any sim racing title were to release now, it would need to be really worth the price if it utilises a subscription model.
Input From You
OverTake user @AndyC709292 made one of many very good points about why they have not entertained the possibility of getting onto iRacing, for the simple fact that the money that would be spent picking up the majority of cars and tracks could one day go to waste as they could decide one day to stop supporting it."Project CARS 2 is no longer available, for some they wish to continue playing it and do. If it had been subscription-based, the ROI (return on investment) on running that service would have dropped off and then no one has access to it, and it wouldn't come back. It's worse in sim racing where licences for various race series can be withdrawn - that would be the end of that content in that game."
This argument is incredibly valid, especially considering how the majority of mainstream racing games nowadays are online only, and when the online services for those games are discontinued, the games become inaccessible completely.
Fellow user @Slapped stated what is in their opinion the only conditions in which a subscription is accessible.
"Pay a subscription for a game which in itself is free, but you're paying for access to the continued service. Where subscriptions don't work is where you have to buy the game, and then pay a subscription to use it, or the most egregious form would be for a subscription game to require that you purchase content and then hold that content for ransom behind the paywall."
What are examples of sim racing subscription services that are worth the cost of renewal? Let us know in the comments below and join the discussion on our forums!
