Games used to be about adventure, discovery, and ownership. Now? $900 for a single Genshin Impact character, FIFA loot boxes that are literal gambling, broken $200 "canvas bag" editions made of nylon, and 45,000 developers laid off since 2022.
EA, Activision, and Valve perfected the Skinner box โ random rewards that turn players into addicts. Belgium and the Netherlands declared loot boxes illegal gambling. Most countries don't care.
Meanwhile, indie games now make nearly half of Steam revenue. Small teams building passion projects vs. AAA studios burning $2 billion on GTA 6 while releasing unfinished, bug-riddled cash grabs.
We lost something that can't be measured in revenue: curiosity, community, and the simple joy of owning a game.