In defense of the parent comment, I don't know that he suggested that it wasn't effective, but it is a dark pattern that probably should be avoided if the gist of the effort is to truly be an educational game that you'd want to enthusiastically support.

Aren't most micro-transactions like those purely cosmetic?

Yes for Valve, but that hasn't stopped a secondary market transacting tens of thousands of dollars or more for them in some cases.

> https://dmarket.com/blog/most-expensive-csgo-skins

> https://tradeit.gg/csgo/store

They are in Valve's own games. But items drop at different rates, which creates artificial scarciry and items can also be traded for money.

But the makers of CS don't go around telling their game is targeted at kids.

And that's another topic, plus this is part of the gameplay, not just some cosmetic stuff.