This I feared would become the prominent financial model for gaming - an access fee and a subscription fee where both must be satisfied to allow you a licence to play the game.

It's also being slowly rolled out to other digital mediums and physical products too on the basis that inventors and creators should be continually paid for the "value" a product or service provides to an individual plus the control as to what happens to a product should exclusively be in the hands of the creator or inventor, not the consumer. Which means that the game developer can cut off access when they feel like it and implement planned obsolescence in order to get you to upgrade and pay more or merely because it doesn't make enough money any more.