The Video Game Industry Is on Fire, And Not in the Good Way.

TheyNoFixPUBG
Dec 31
3 min read

Once upon a time, video games were made by people who actually liked video games. Wild concept, I know.

Fast forward to today and the industry looks like it was designed by a committee whose only gaming experience is Candy Crush on a company phone during meetings. The result? A creative wasteland of half-finished launches, monetization schemes, and studios wondering why players are mad while actively setting the house on fire.

Let’s talk about how we got here.

1. Shipping Broken Games Is Now “Normal”

Remember when a game launched and… worked?

Now it’s:

Day one patch (fine)
Week one patch (okay…)
Month three patch (why is this still broken)
Year later “Definitive Edition” (oh, so this is the finished game)

Studios are launching games in what used to be called early access, except now you pay $70 and get gaslit into thinking it’s your PC’s fault.

“Don’t worry, we’ll fix it after launch” has somehow become a business model.

Spoiler: most players don’t stick around long enough to see it fixed.

2. Monetization Has Gone Completely Off the Rails

There was a time when you bought a game and… owned the game. Incredible era. Truly historic.

Now:

Battle passes
Premium battle passes
Premium premium battle passes
Cosmetic shops rotating every 24 hours like it’s a hostage situation

Games are no longer designed to be fun first, they’re designed to keep you logged in just long enough to open your wallet.

Progression is intentionally slow. Rewards are intentionally dull. Convenience is intentionally sold back to you.

That’s not game design. That’s behavioral psychology wearing a hoodie.

3. Corporate Decision-Making Is Killing Creativity

Most big studios aren’t making games anymore, they’re making products for shareholders.

Everything has to be:

Safe
Familiar
Trend-chasing
Monetizable for 5+ years

Which is why every game now:

Has RPG mechanics whether it needs them or not
Has crafting because reasons
Has a live-service roadmap even when no one asked

Risk is dead. Innovation is “dangerous.” And originality is quietly escorted out of the building. Indie devs are carrying creativity on their backs while AAA studios spend $300 million reinventing the same open-world checklist.

4. Developers Are Burnt Out (And It Shows)

Crunch culture never left, it just got better PR.

Developers are:

Overworked
Underpaid (compared to profits)
Rushed to hit impossible deadlines
Blamed when leadership decisions implode

Then when a game fails, executives get bonuses and studios get shut down. Very cool system. Extremely normal. Players can feel it too. When a game lacks polish, soul, or basic respect for your time, that’s usually not the devs, that’s the timeline and the spreadsheet.

5. Players Aren’t “Entitled” They’re Just Tired

The industry loves calling players “toxic” or “entitled” whenever criticism pops up.

But let’s be honest:

Prices went up
Quality went down
Trust is gone

People aren’t mad because they hate games. They’re mad because they love them and keep getting burned. When customers expect a finished product and basic honesty, that’s not entitlement, that’s the bare minimum.