I quit their system when they changed things around and my life hasnt changed, Indont even play online.
Tbh the way things have gone, I went and bought a PC, got some emulators and got all my catalog on to the system and any nintendo exclusives or PS exclusives I buy second hand. I have hated this generation between the ps5 and switch everything underwhelmed
FWIW there are exceptions to that. On PlayStation, you only need a subscription if PSN handles the online component of the game. Companies that manage their own online services don't require it. Genshin Impact, Final Fantasy 14, Warframe, Fortnite, etc. can all be played without PS+
I don't own an Xbox so I am not quite sure, but I don't think it applies in quite the same way, namely that in order to play Final Fantasy XIV on Xbox, I read that you need a Gamepass subscription in addition to the game subscription itself, which is not a requirement on PlayStation.