The Crash of an Industry

When it comes to having free time, having a break, with nothing to do, even taking a nap can count as something to do to de-stress. Other people, like myself, like to sit back in their rooms with a keyboard and mouse to play video games. Over the years, it seems the video games have experienced a rise in popularity, especially during 2020 when the pandemic first hit. Even though the industry is at an all time high, gaming is evolving into a place that it should not. Now the commonplace trend is unfinished
games, microtransactions, and false promises.

Nowadays it is not uncommon for players to become extremely hyped up for a new game release, only to have the disappointing realization that $60.00 was wasted on a product that is broken, unfinished, and a loss of time. Let’s start with a game that from the get-go was unfinished from the start: Halo Infinite. Halo Infinite is the next in the series of the Halo universe and the sequel to the game Halo 5. Halo Infinite was released in November of 2021, and when it was released there were major issues.
First off, from the get-go, the game was buggy when players tried to access multiplayer activities, and people were unable to have an actual progression system. It was only now that we got a roadmap that adds the ability to report players and has an actual progression system. Although it seems as if 343i spends most of its time trying to figure out what to sell next in its item shop.

Most of the time you might have heard of the phrases such as, “Micro Transactions, Pay 2 win!, or Loot Boxes.” It is not an uncommon thing to see most of the time, if not all the time. Most, if not all, games now have this thing called a “Battle Pass” which is now a commonplace hot commodity. Battle passes first started to kick off in the game Fortnite which was a system that has been in a nonstop cycle which leaves a constant grind that only lasts a few months before it starts all over again. It also comes down to different types of microtransactions too like loot boxes or even pay-to-win.

Loot boxes are in-game gambling targeted toward children. The purpose of a loot box is to appear that the player has a high chance of getting that specific item but in reality, it is a casino targeted towards children with a high risk high reward scheme. Loot Boxes died down in games, although they are still on the radar to the point where governments and lawmakers are taking legal action. For example, on June 3, the game Diablo Immortal was released early, although it was banned in Belgium and the Netherlands because of their Anti-Loot Box Laws according to CNET. It has come to a point where things like this law are uncommon. It is extremely difficult to see a game you wholeheartedly love get turned into waste due to greedy corporations trying to make the next easiest quick buck by targeting them towards avid gamers and children. The worst part is even if players make the mistake of purchasing something like that, players would not be able to get a refund.

Some, if not all, games that have come out these past two years have not lived up to their true potential. For example, games like Cyberpunk 2077, Battlefield 2042, and Halo Infinite were re-released too early and lacked features like driving a car normally or even going into a car dealership to buy an in-game car. In Battlefield 2042 players can’t even play a specific class unless they are a playable character. Halo Infinite has slim to no actual mini-games people want to play. Instead, players are stuck with random game modes like Slayer, Grifball, and Capture the Flag. While these game modes are fun, it is the same as any other game mode. Where are the new modes? Why can’t we have new modes or older modes from older games, such as Infection, Couch Co-op, and Forge? Where are the features that were promised on day one?

Even though the gaming industry is interesting in itself, there is still a question of whether the industry can be trusted. Why spend your hard-earned cash on a game that comes out just for it to be unfinished, have predatory marketing, and have half of its player base leave after a week of chewing the game up and spitting it out? The gaming industry is making a turn for the worse. It needs
to actually keep the promises it makes and release the games with features that it said would be in the game. I am tired of the industry that has made millions of dollars from scamming both children and adults. These companies think they’re the good guys and blame the player base for not liking additions they make to games. Some developers go as far as to pair game journalists and have them write fake reviews. There is proof of how some game developers paid game journalists to rate the scores extremely high when it is known the game did very poorly. The gaming industry needs to stop scamming people and taking the fun and joy out of an experience as a result of corporate greed. The industry needs a wake-up, and it needs to wake up now.