Just grabbed the new season pass in my favorite shooter. Felt hype at first. Cool skins! New gun charms! But two weeks in? It’s like homework. Log in daily. Do silly tasks. Shoot 10 frogs while crouching? Really? Feels less like fun, more like a second job.

Remember when unlocks just… happened? You played well, you got stuff. Simple. Now it’s all FOMO traps. “Play now or miss out!” My buddy missed last season’s final reward. By two levels! He quit cold turkey. Said it stressed him more than his actual job. Wild, right?

When I played older games, rewards felt earned. That epic mount after raid nights? Pure joy. Now I pay $10 upfront just for the *chance* to grind. And the grind? It’s padded. Artificial. Make players stay longer. Milk playtime stats. Feels kinda scummy if you ask me.

Some devs get it right though. Deep Rock Galactic nails it. Free pass. All rewards stay earnable later. No rush. Play for fun, not fear. Why can’t big studios copy this? Is player goodwill really that scary?

I miss when games respected my time. Hope more devs wake up. Give us goals that feel good. Not chores that feel bad. Keep the joy, ditch the junk work.