I don’t mind paying for a good game. Really. If a developer pours their heart into something and it actually delivers, I have no problem dropping $70 on a full-price release. Hell, I’ve spent way too much money on games I loved—collector’s editions, DLC expansions, replaying them on different platforms.
But lately? I’ve been spending more on games while feeling less satisfied than ever.
And I know I’m not the only one.
Games cost more now—$70 standard editions, $100 deluxe editions, battle passes, microtransactions, expansions, subscriptions—but they feel worse. More bloated, less polished, less focused on actually being fun and more focused on keeping us engaged for as long as possible.
So where is all our money going?
Why Are Games More Expensive Now?
The price of video games technically hadn’t changed in years—AAA games hovered around $60 for nearly two decades, even as development costs skyrocketed. So when publishers bumped it up to $70 per game, the justification was simple:
“Games cost more to make, so they need to cost more to buy.”
On paper? Makes sense.
In reality? It’s complete bullshit.
Because we’re not just paying more upfront—we’re also spending more inside the games themselves.
- Base game: $70
- Deluxe edition with early access: $100+
- Battle pass: $10 per season
- In-game cosmetics: $5 to $20 per skin
- DLC expansions: $40+ each
- Game subscription services: $10 to $20 per month
And even after all of that, games are launching unfinished, broken, and loaded with microtransactions—even single-player games.
We’re Paying More for Games That Feel Worse
It’s not just about price. Games feel worse now—not just in quality, but in how they’re designed.
- Games Are Built to Drain Your Wallet, Not to Be Fun
AAA publishers don’t care about making great games anymore—they care about keeping you spending.
- Instead of unlocking cool armor by playing the game, you buy skins in the store.
- Instead of progressing naturally, you grind through time-gated battle passes that force you to log in daily.
- Instead of releasing finished games, they sell you a roadmap—because the real content will come later.
Everything is designed to keep you engaged but never fully satisfied—because the second you feel “done,” you stop spending.
- AAA Games Are Bloated, Not Better
Remember when a game was just a game? Now every big release has to be a 100-hour open-world RPG with crafting, skill trees, and live service elements—even if none of those things actually make the game better.
- Assassin’s Creed went from tight, historical stealth games to endless, empty open worlds stuffed with filler.
- Horizon Forbidden West was gorgeous, but half the side quests felt like they were added just to pad the runtime.
- Final Fantasy XVI tried to be an action game, but padded its world with fetch quests straight out of an MMO.
Big-budget games feel designed for engagement metrics, not for player enjoyment.
- Games Are Launching Broken More Than Ever
We’re spending more money on games that aren’t even finished when they release.
- Cyberpunk 2077 launched as a disaster, despite costing hundreds of millions to make.
- Battlefield 2042 was unplayable for months after launch.
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor ran like absolute garbage on PC at release—even though it was a single-player game.
And somehow, we just accept this now.
Game launches feel like paid beta tests—and publishers know they can get away with it because we keep buying in.
Where Is All Our Money Going?
If games are more expensive than ever, if publishers are making billions in revenue, if microtransactions are bringing in absurd amounts of extra cash, then why does it feel like games are worse?
Because the money isn’t going to better development cycles or paying developers fairly. It’s going to:
- Stock buybacks to inflate share prices.
- Executive bonuses for making “engagement numbers” go up.
- R&D on predatory monetization strategies—not on making better games.
- Marketing budgets that are bigger than the actual game’s development costs.
And instead of hiring more developers, AAA publishers are firing them.
So What Can We Do?
We’re being trained to accept worse experiences for more money—and as long as people keep paying, nothing will change.
The only way to stop it? Stop giving publishers money for bad behavior.
- Stop pre-ordering games.
- Don’t buy into microtransactions that should be free unlocks.
- Support developers that actually care about making great games.
Because right now, we’re paying more than ever—and getting less than ever.
And if we don’t push back, AAA publishers are going to keep squeezing until there’s nothing left worth playing.