Spitfire Originals Now On Splice 'Instrument' - thin end of the wedge?

[ThoughtExperiment]

I own a few Spitfire Originals and today I got an email from Spitfire informing me that I can access new, updated versions of them by installing the Splice 'Instrument'. So I jumped through a few (minor) hoops, installed the Splice thingy, and re-downloaded 'Epic Choir' to see what was new about the updated version...Nothing, really. Ok, the interface is now orange intead of grey, but I didn't see any extra presets, or new controls. Sounds great of course, but it did before...

So maybe the update was just to make it compatible with the Splice Instrument. In which case, what does the Splice Instrument offer?
A rather (unnecessarily) large UI
Not particularly intuitive navigation
Requirement to stay logged in to the Splice account (alright, you can go offline for 7 days)
Not much by way of 'preferences' to resize, remove crap I'll never use from the UI

But on the plus side, there's...nothing (for me)

So after wasting a few minutes on all this, I checked that I could still use the VST3 versions of my Spifire Originals (and I can, for the moment at least), I deleted my newly-created Splice account and uninstalled the 'Instrument'. No real harm done, apart from a bit of wasted time.

But...I can't help wondering if this is the thin end of the wedge. It's been quite a while since Spitfire announced their 'partnership' with Splice and this is the first actual change to any of the existing Spitfire libraries. Yes, they're only relatively small, cheap libraries - but still. The thing is, Splice has nothing at all to offer me - I understand there are lots of other people who think it's great and good luck to 'em, but it's not for me. So I don't want to be forced into using it in order to use something I already bought...

Sorry for the long-ass post, but I was wondering if anyone else has any thoughts, opinions - this is KVR, of course there'll be opinions

[planet_b]

I agree, there's nothing in "Instrument" that would benefit us. Plus the old sessions are no longer recallable as the previous Originals are separate VST3's. So I'm really hoping they're not going to do the dumb thing and make those no longer available.

[ThoughtExperiment]

... I'm really hoping they're not going to do the dumb thing and make those no longer available.

Yes, that's my concern. This might the first (noticeable) test of just how much of a 'partnership' the whole Spitfire/Splice deal really is.

[Mr Arkadin]

I agree, there's nothing in "Instrument" that would benefit us. Plus the old sessions are no longer recallable as the previous Originals are separate VST3's. So I'm really hoping they're not going to do the dumb thing and make those no longer available.

From the FAQ:

I already own some Originals — can I still use them?
Yes, if you own any Originals you will get access to the new, updated INSTRUMENT versions for free. You'll need to create a Splice account if you don't have one yet, and link it from the Product Hub.
​
You'll need to re-download the products via INSTRUMENT, as they use a new folder structure and include various improvements. See the change-logs HERE.

You will also still be able to access the dedicated plugin versions of the libraries, and install, repair or reset them via the Spitfire Audio App. We suggest keeping these on your system if you have existing, active projects that use them.

Please note that these legacy versions are discontinued and can no longer be purchased. They will no longer be supported or updated going forward.

[Bron]

I got this too. Read carefully and also saw that Splice has a subscription model, but doesn’t apply to me an an ‘originals’ owner but it makes me wonder where this is going.

[adash123]

I'm starting to look at alternative options. First Labs, now this - and it appears the original vsts will eventually go offline. More trouble than its worth to me TBH.

[ThoughtExperiment]

Well I can live without them, if necessary. I do still use the Epic Choir pretty often, although more for convenience since the 8Dio choir I own has far more options.
I'm more concerned about where this might end up re the Kontakt libraries. I never really liked Kontakt but it's infinitely preferable to this Splice thing.