I don't know enough about online/co-op gameplay systems, or whom is responsible for what between game developer, publisher or console holder. But hopefully if I armchair CEO a little, someone can come alone and explain why this part will work, or that part won't etc.
I don't think online play/co-op play should be behind a paywall. Nor should, say, having to have xbl gold back in the day before you could use the Netflix media app or play a f2p online game.
Turn the PS+ middle/top tier into one, so it's an enthusiastic/nostalgia thing. I can either buy this game digitally from PStore one at a time, or this sub service will let me temporarily access (dl or stream for all games, looking at you, PS3 library) whatever games they have up there. That allows me, along with PS5+PS4 deluxe installations (say if I want to have extra save slots but retain all game savedata to one profile), to manage ssd space by choosing to download this or stream that. Depending on genre type, one might be preferable to the other. My often used example, MK9 streamed like dog shit back on the old PSNow, back then I think that was only way to play it on a modern machine. Trying to recall, but I believe I have it over on XB's BC now for playing on XBSX, but that's not where I want it to be. It's like content that didn't move over from PSNow, alongside purchased content that didn't move over from PS3 digital content, or it didn't come to this country's digital storefront/sub service/BC program, so we have to go account hopping. If the IP contracts existed at one point, the PStore backend's been done and tech is gradually moving forward, the emulators have been redone, where's the hiccup? Well, we're waiting? Open the floodgates. BC/digital side rant over...
So, options, don't gatekeep features like say remoteplay or shareplay behind the paywall, but the further embracing of options. Download or stream, purchase or sub. PS play-pool, or PS+PC play-pool for co-op/online as a user option feature, I guess?
Side story for PS3's Starhawk. I rented this for a weekend from BlockBuster, and literally ran around an empty world. I got PS3 late and I seemed to have missed this game's time. It may have been during the PS3 network outage, I don't remember the particulars really. But even though I was in an empty world and didn't get it, that online world still existed. That's better than something like UC2/UC3/TLOU1's PS3 MP's being depreciated/turned off. Can't server rental be a PS+Extra perk?
Another factor too is some games reach a point where the server cost isn't developer friendly anymore, so the game goes f2p, and I assume peer2peer and as long as you can get a few buds sorted, you can fill a matchmaking lobby or spawn together in the same area of the overworld and fast travel to a specific mission, like Division. I know I was playing ShadowRun on 360 and PC for ages past when it was new and "alive". I've gone way off tangent and confused myself lol.
