As the digital games market grows on platforms like Steam, discovery becomes a major issue for both game developers and gamers trying to decide where to spend their money. But despite the fact that platforms have been around for years, the idea of having a Netflix-style subscription service for video games is still relatively new.

“Right now is the wild west of game subscription services, as there’s a huge land-grab available for whoever figures out the formula first and claims the Netflix-and-Spotify-sized hole in gaming,” Anthony Palma, CEO and founder of the video game subscription service Jump, told AlistDaily. “The company that will win out will be a cost-effective multiplatform service that delivers a perfect gaming experience.”

Publisher Electronic Arts launched its EA Access subscription service for consoles in 2014, which was expanded with the PC-oriented EA Origin in 2016. Since the initial launch three years ago, a number of different game services ranging from Sony’s PlayStation Now, GameFly, Xbox Games Pass and other upstarts like Jump and Utomik have emerged.

Subscriptions psychologically eliminate the purchase anxiety consumers feel every time they decide to buy a new game, movie or album, Palma said, as billing just happens on a monthly basis.

“The paradigm shift from purchasing to subscription access is inevitable in gaming,” said Palma. “It’s already happened in virtually every other consumer market, including music, video, data and even grocery delivery.”

Doki Tops, CEO and founder of the Utomik service, agrees with that sentiment, stating that the games industry is following in the wake of media subscription services such as Netflix and Spotify.

“You no longer have to spend time on figuring out what to buy and where to get the best deal,” Tops told AListDaily. “Also, there is no boundary to discover and try games you would otherwise never look at. Something that buying individual games can prevent you from if you’re on a limited budget.”

Utomik launched in 2014 after developing technology that lets players start games after partially downloading them. Comparatively, Jump is a new service that launched earlier this year. Both want to be the “Netflix of video games” by offering subscribers “all you can eat” access to a variety of titles, with the main difference being that Jump specializes in independent games while Utomik is also partnered with major publishers like Ubisoft, Warner Bros. and Take-Two Interactive.

This distinction leads to specific approaches to their businesses, with the most significant being that Utomik is partnered with developers and distributors such as Plug In Digital to have games added to the subscription service either on the same day they launch for sale or shortly after. Its initial day-one release is the independently developed adventure game Yono and the Celestial Elephants.

“We feel that day-one releases create a freshness and a premium feeling to a subscription platform, and it’s the first step we believe subscription gaming needs to take to become huge,” said Tops.

In contrast, Palma said that Jump advises developers to wait until games reach the end of their sales cycle so that they can profit from purchases first. However, new audiences may discover these games on Jump through the platform’s recommendation system, which is designed to connect players with games they might be interested in.

According to Palma, Jump targets users “who don’t necessarily need every game on day one,” but are interested in trying new games over time. The service plans to eventually develop its own original games to help draw in a broader audience.

Although both CEOs have different approaches when it comes to growing their respective platforms, both agree the content is the main factor.

“Content is king if you’re any type of media platform, be it digital sales or subscriptions,” said Palma, who added that content strategy needs to be coupled with long-term multiplatform on-demand access.

Tops said that the key to growing Utomik was to realize that there was no one master key. “You need to do a lot right,” he explained. “I would say, have a solid technology base to work on, then get good content on board and consequently finding the audience to the content that you get on board.”

According to Tops, subscription platforms have to learn that they’re never going to get all the games that they want. However, services should get feedback from their users and, most of all, remain persistent.

“Getting some of the bigger partners on board has taken us over two years of talking with them about the most random things, like tap dancing,” said Tops.

Utomik relies on a number of different social channels to promote itself, with Facebook being its main driver, but Tops hinted that bigger distribution and promotional partnerships will be announced in the coming months. Jump is also using a variety of platforms, particularly YouTube and Twitch, along with developer support and traditional ads to get the word out about its services.

“Online media is also paying more attention to subscription gaming than ever before,” said Tops. “Next to that we’re soft launching our yet-to-be-announced streamer-affiliate program to have people that enjoy Utomik get the word out for us. It always works better to have someone else recommend you than you recommending yourself.”

After three years of operation, Tops describes Utomik’s audience as broader and more varied than he expected when the service first started. The only common denominator that Tops found was that subscribers enjoy a wide variety of games, from longtime classics to niche titles. He also said that gender is not a factor and subscribers generally range from 20-to-50-years-old.

Greater acceptance will come as these services continue to grow. Tops said it’s already much easier to convince publishers and developers to join a subscription platform than it was when Utomik first started.

“We [recently] signed 61 new games in one month,” said Tops. “That used to take us a whole year in the beginning, and the games would be of a lower quality. As with most markets, the initial adoption is hard, and at some point, it becomes a slide. [These are] exciting times, and we are proud to be pioneers of this new age of gaming.”