Gamers, let's not pretend PS Plus and Xbox Game Pass multiplayer subscriptions are okay – they're exactly why PC gaming is arguably cheaper in the long term

It's been a long while since I took a huge and ambitious leap into the gaming PC ecosystem, and with it have come plenty of highs and lows. As one who also plays games on console, specifically Sony's PS5, it was incredibly frustrating to go from a simple start-up and play design, to then deal with file tinkering and adjusting other PC settings.

However, once I became accustomed to this and also learned about the benefits of the platform, notably that PC multiplayer was free (as it should be), it became my primary gaming station.

Unfortunately, that's not the case with consoles. Both Microsoft and Sony have long introduced multiplayer subscription plans, through Xbox Game Pass and PS Plus, respectively, which means console gamers must subscribe to either, in most cases, to play games online (excluding free-to-play titles like Fortnite).

Now you ...