It's not just you, game devs are tired of microtransactions too

Video game developers would like to rely less on monetization and more on creativity for their games.

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Gaming is a business, and that means profits come first. Since the introduction of new transformative disruptions like live service games and microtransactions, game devs have tried to balance their project vision with some sort of guaranteed money-maker. Project budgets are skyrocketing, and sales aren't guaranteed, so devs will often try to improve the odds of success by putting in microtransactions into their projects (often at the behest of publishers).

Apparently, game devs want this to change. According to a new 2023 State of Game Development & Design report from Perforce, video game creators would like to see the industry move towards quality games and away from aggressive monetization for the sake of profits.

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Below is a quick excerpt:

Monetization and Design

• Shift focus from profit-driven design to quality experiences.
• Reduce reliance on microtransactions and pay-to-win models.
• Prioritize creativity and original gameplay over monetization

The gravity of this sentiment is underlined by the kinds of developers that feel this way.

According to the survey, most of the respondents (38%) were from AAA game studios, whereas indies and mid-sized studios made up 37%. This highlights the current landscape of gaming, where a large portion of marquee games will have some sort of in-game purchase or monetization option.

Microtransactions have always been a controversial part of gaming, but despite the vocal push back, consumers also spend billions of dollars a year in F2P-driven experiences like Fortnite, Call of Duty Warzone, Apex Legends, and Genshin Impact.

It's also worth mentioning that mid-sized studios will often assist with other projects--the industry is very collaborative and studios will work with each other very frequently.