As an indie dev who's currently working on console games using GMS 1.4, this news is extremely frustrating and feels like a slap in the face...
I'm all for YoYo making money on their engine, but even as an indie developer with commercial projects on the market (both solo games and with a small studio), I'm NOWHERE near being able to afford $1500 a year for console export, much less $800 apiece per year for Xbox /PS4 export. And the prospect of starting a new console project that might take a few years to complete, that's digging a deep hole without guarantee of cash flow.
So...great, I'll be able to hopefully get my current console project out before 1.4 support gets dropped next year, but THEN what? If that game doesn't wind up being a solid hit, it pretty much pushes me out of making consoles games using GMS. (BTW - if you thought developing PC or mobile games was tough and had a lot of hoops to jump through, 10X that if you're developing for console). The process has been so technically convoluted, that I've been tempted to say bag it and turn back to PC/Mobile development numerous times. It's almost not worth the insane hassle.
As much as I value working with our console partners, NOTHING about the console development process is indie friendly. It's designed for AAA, so expect lots of specific regulations and arbitrary rules/hoops to jump through, lots of added time for approvals and QA/review, and all with no guarantee your game will sell. Honestly, you really need a FT team member who JUST handles paperwork, juggling all the red tape, and scheduling important timetable stuff.
Anyhow, I work FT at a non-games day job, and my solo projects and 3-person studio Touchfight Games are ALL bootstrapping it project by project with zero budget and only a trickle of cash flow from our existing projects. Studio-wise, We run a super tight ship with low overhead to cut down on operating expenses, but until we get a few great selling games out, there's no way we can afford $1500 a year.
This is really disheartening, and as much as I love GMS (despite its jankiness and frustrating bugs) I'm seriously considering Unity. I've been gradually learning Unity, and loving it, but had planned to stick with GMS long-term due to its ease of use for more simple 2D games. Unity's sub model makes a lot more sense...since you're not paying $1500 a year UNTIL you're earning over $200k a year, which means you've become successful enough to afford the expense.
This console sub model was rolled out in a really inelegant, clunky way that blindsides both newer devs looking to use GMS for console export AND existing devs who are currently working on console projects (but don't have them out yet or don't have a "hit" and steady enough cash flow to afford another annual operating expense).
The problem isn't that they're asking a bit more for the licenses -- it's that what they're asking is really unfeasible for a huge chunk of their core indie-focused audience, including developers who are beyond the hobbyist level and are already releasing commercial projects. Sure, you've got a handful of small studios that have used GMS and landed indie hits, but that's not the vast majority of us.
Really sort of grossed out on GSM2 over this. I bought the desktop license (haven't switched over to it yet) and I pretty much don't have a choice but to grab the mobile export module if I want to be able to continue updated/supporting my existing iOS projects beyond next year, but it leaves a pretty sour taste in my mouth. I also feel bad for the newer folks who haven't even gotten started releasing commercial projects yet.