I don't think it is going away. Originally, only Xbox had the "Gold" subscription service, but Sony followed suit with PS+ on the PS4. Neither console allows for online multiplayer without the premium service. At least now they give away games each month to subscribers, so you do recover your fees if they happen to give away games you'd be interested in.
It's like the fees that the airlines gouge fliers with. They likely aren't going away either. But when I read that one airline was instituting, or contemplating installing, pay-toilet locks on their planes so people had to literally
PAY TO PEE, I nearly lost my lunch! Vendors are figuring out that they have a 'captive audience', and can charge their customers to use their services. That, at the base isn't new, but to charge for blankets, pillows, water, cups, restroom access (to continue the airline angle) is
USER ABUSIVE! To have a game device where people are paying close to $100 for some games, and then HAVE to pay money to use those games at all is asinine! It's downright gouging and exploiting their users.
Sure, there are people that would go without food to play their coveted game, but at some point, they will price themselves out of their market, and as the economy tanks farther, their market will shrink, and as apparently is inevitable, they will likely raise prices, or find more areas to shakedown their customers.
I'm digging out my old Nintendo machine. I can play Diablo without being shaken down... What is old is new again...
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XBL is only needed for online multiplayer. You don't need it for the vast majority of games on the xbox and none of the other features are behind the paywall. It's also typically a yearly sub. Virtually no one pays for XBL monthly. That would be enormously wasteful.
I'll have to dig for the game, but I bought a game that mentioned nothing about needed a subscription, and when I started it, required a subscription. It would not let me run the game without having a subscription. Period. I have been 'out of the loop' for a few years, but this 'feature' was surprising. I bought the game, I expected to be able to PLAY the game I bought, and I have to cough up cash for a 'subscription' to a service that I'll probably never ever use. Online gaming? I'm 60. Why the hell would I want to play an online game? I'd be road kill. I guess I should sell the Xbox One and the games I have. Like I said earlier, I'm digging out my Nintendo game and will try to hook it up and play Diablo in peace and quiet.