F2P became more popular than paid games both in userbase and revenue generated because people prefers to play for free over to play for a game they paid.
In the same way, I think that in the future people will prefer to earn money for playing over playing for free and don't earn money for it. Even if square minded players (including game media or most posts to be seen in this thread) will need several years to accept and stop hating the change and understand the common sense behind the concept thatt is better for them to get paid over having to pay.
That being said, as happened with F2P they'll need years of iteration to tweak the formula to reach a point games are appealing enough for their current, older fanbase (including game media) who will need several years to accept it, as also needed several years in the past to accept 3D visuals, CDs, (dual) analog controls, digital games, dlc, F2P or mobile.