oh yeah, I didn't want to be dismissive of the mtx stuff. It's absolutely predatory and awful, but I don't think it fully stands in the way of developing good games.

Which is related to what you're saying about indies going under even after success. Game development takes time, and you need money to underwrite that time. I just think there's going to be a split; right now AAA studios are shitifying their games, turning them more into CandyCrush skinner boxes. But the demand for good games hasn't gone away, there's just less financial upside than making CandyCrush. My point is, even though it's less money, there's still a good amount of money to be had there. Eventually the gaps going to be filled. Microsoft cant fill it because on the balance sheet, things like COD and anything from King are where they should be focused. And it sucks right now because they sucked up a stupid amount of talent and thanos snapped them, but thats not a sustainable practice.

But yes, it's going to be painful. It'll suck seeing really nifty indie stuff have to struggle so hard. Like I said I'm also going to miss the polish that comes with AA stuff. I'm going to miss the hell out of Arkane. Their games weren't perfect, but they had so much soul. They didn't deserve to have Redfall be their epitaph.