Nothing inside a video game should cost real money. Half-measures will not work - these people will design new approaches to the same old tricks. They’re game developers.

Loot boxes barely even exist anymore, because people finally acknowledged they’re awful and abusive. The abuse did not stop. The abuse got worse. Real-money fees inside games have only grown more prevalent. It’s now half the industry’s revenue. All they did was convince players to focus on the carrot and ignore the stick. Even when the carrot is an empty promise and the whacks from the stick are very real.

We cannot be surprised that a medium built on manipulating customers for their enjoyment can also manipulate customers out of sheer bottomless greed.