Unfortunately, I recall thinking the same thing about Photoshop before Adobe switched to the subscription model, but here we are.

Adobe made the switch to subscription in 2013, and their revenue the following year grew to about $4 billion. It has continued to increase every year, often by double digit percentages - revenue for 2022 was $17.6 billion, an increase of almost $2 billion over 2022. And 93% of that revenue is from subscriptions.

On a more positive note, maybe a Windows subscription model is what will finally lead to the Year of the Linux Desktop…