Are the Grindy, free-to-play models fading away?
Are the Grindy, free-to-play models fading away?
Initially I'm excluding free games that provide cosmetics or non-essential items, since those can be bought or used to grind. What's needed is the actual new or unique content, which requires grinding. Around 2010 this style gained popularity for me, with titles like World of Tanks and War Thunder leading the way, though there are many others in different niches. I think this genre grew slowly because of the success of earlier mobile games that used the same format and performed well (such as gacha games). In my experience, these games felt like a vast new world thanks to the variety they offered, especially War Thunder. But over time I noticed I wasn't really playing them much—I was mostly just working through them, and even if I enjoyed some aspects or found them unique, the constant stick-and-carrot mechanic stopped me. Similarly, I see fewer developers trying to enter this style, which makes me wonder if many feel the same about it.
They remain a huge phenomenon, particularly in international waters. They are becoming outdated and dull, so a fresh story, updated mechanics, and engaging gameplay are essential for people to look for new games amid the time demands.
the thing about free to play games is that if they have some sort of power chain then they need either cosmetics to gain revenue or some way to skip the grind by paying which ruins the game.
theese days people have reacted super negatively on things like cod AW where you needed to get lootboxes with weapon skins that gave your weapon different stats which in turn made it pay to win slot machine.
since the latest "trend" of games has been the Battle royale genre and not many different game types have arrived i think the market is at a stalemate waiting for something new to hit the field (well i guess auto battlers did have a big impact on a specific portion of the market like the league/dota/hearthstone players but that wasn't as big as the BR genre was and still is)