The Sickening Truth Behind Cosmetic Gaming Microtransactions

7. They're Part Of An Industry-Wide Long Con

It wasn't that long ago that players simply scoffed at the prospect of paying real-world money for extra digital skins and other "intangible" cosmetic objects in video games.

But with a 2018 report declaring that 69% of gamers now find cosmetic MTX acceptable, times have certainly changed, and it's all part of an industry-wide effort to effectively railroad players into opening their wallets.

For starters, publishers would love to have us all believe that cosmetics and character customisation aren't in fact a core part of the gaming experience, and so by carving them out only to sell them back to us later, the player isn't actually being deprived of anything.

Except, anyone who's played at least a few video games in their life can appreciate the enormous personal satisfaction and added emotional investment which comes with tailoring a character's style to your own preferences.

Simply put, cosmetics are far more closely linked to gameplay than publishers want to admit, which isn't only a disservice to players, but also the artists who work so hard creating all the assets.

Given that online phenomenons like Overwatch, Fortnite, and so on are centered around players personalising their avatars, to at once deem that disposable while also commodifying it for a premium is crass at best, if not offensively manipulative.

Indeed, even at their most "unnecessary" and "harmless," cosmetic MTX feed into a system designed to change how you think...