I’d much rather pay one time purchases than a subscription, because then it feels like I’m just renting instead of buying.

I agree completely in most cases. It’s these mega-DLC games that flip the script. I can only use personal experience as precedent, but for me I just can’t bring myself to play a game I haven’t invested a lot of money in over a very similar game I have.

And an “EOL” game isn’t necessarily bad because now modders can mod the game without worrying about updates breaking things

Yeah, but this sorta reiterates my point. Modders embracing the older game makes it hard to sell a newer game. I mean, I have a feeling Minecraft2 would not be nearly as easy a sell as Minecraft is.