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A comment on Microsoft to acquire ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks for $7.5B. Parent comment

Re:Microsoft to acquire ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks... by shagie on Monday September 21, 2020 @01:13PM (#24545928)
The "living game" approach has to do with the cost of the DLC and the difficulty at moving the price point of a game (while costs to build it go up).

This allows the studio to make money on the game based on the continued DLC which needs less development investment.

It isn't so much "milking" but rather "acknowledging a change in the way games are monetized because the price of the initial game isn't changing."

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Re:Microsoft to acquire ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks... by mrguyorama on Monday September 21, 2020 @03:58PM (#24547752)
No, the "living game" approach is because it turns out taking a "hat" asset that took an artist like 2 days to make (or you literally got for free from your fanbase!) and selling it for $5 to the 10 million people playing your game makes A FUCKLOAD of money. It's absolutely milking. Games make more money now when they are "Oh woe is me so expensive to make oh poor me feel pitty" then they ever dreamed of even when a game could be made by one person.
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