Good. The more people realize is being spied on, the better.

I’m aware of the purpose of advertising, that doesn’t make it not manipulation. Additionally, advertising to purchase more of the product you’re already using while you’re using said product is scummier than advertising a one and done transaction, or a continuous transaction that isn’t further advertised in-game.

I’m against the profit motive, but obviously I understand that there are degrees and shades. That’s why I said I’m more okay with products that don’t manipulate you while you’re using them, like one and done transactions or subscriptions.

You still see advertisement in LoL because nearly every player uses skins that aren’t the base, whether they paid for them or not. It gives out free loot crates that further incentivize gambling by giving you a taste of something addictive.

The profit motive leads to bad things, yes, but the way you go about them is different. See: Celeste, or Hollow Knight, or Signalis, or even AAA games like Prey, or multi-player games like CS:Source, all games that advertise and then cease to advertise once you’re actually in-game or have purchased them.

On a much smaller level, sure. Advertising in general is predatory and manipulative. F2P models are stores you cannot leave without leaving the game entirely, unlike paid games.

They don’t rely on it, and you can make a model that requires you to purchase months in advance, and refill as necessary, without charging again once that’s up.

There absolutely is psychological manipulation, that’s what advertisement is. Are you saying they make cosmetic shops some hidden feature you have to unlock? Lmao. Even just seeing it in-game is subtle manipulation into buying more.

F2P games are experiments in psychological manipulation more than they are games.

Cosmetics are still used to nickel and dime players. Better to sell a complete package, or make it a subscription service, regardless of what players think they want, because it’s better to not be psychologically manipulated into making a purchase. Advertising is also bullshit, for the record.

You do know that you can perform a subscription or donation based service, right? Free to play games with microtransaction models are designed to manipulate the player into gambling, they are glorified online casinos.

That’s like saying ads are also fine if you don’t care about them. The design of F2P model games is to create an environment to encourage spending, it’s insidious and more deceptive than you’d think.