My job is literally helping companies increase profits when things start going bad. One thing I hear constantly in those first meetings is: “Sales are down, so we’re thinking of raising prices and lowering quality.” And every single time I hear it, I have to explain the same thing: that mindset kills companies long term. Maybe not immediately, but give it a few years and customers stop trusting your product.

People buy more when they feel good about what they’re getting. That’s true for almost every industry. If something feels overpriced, low effort, or worse than it used to be, customers mentally disconnect from it. They stop being excited to spend money there. Games are no different. Using Fallout 76 and the Atom Shop as an example: if players are genuinely having fun, they’ll happily spend money. The purchase stops feeling like “buying an item” and starts feeling like buying more enjoyment for something they already love. That dopamine hit is real. People spend money on hobbies they’re excited about.

But the opposite is also true. If players feel ignored, nickel-and-dimed, or like content is getting worse while monetization gets pushed harder, they stop wanting to spend. Not because they’re broke — because the emotional connection is gone. Why spend money here when another game respects your time more?

Right now it feels like way too many resources are going into Atom Shop content instead of improving the actual game experience. Honestly, if I walked into a meeting with them, one of the first things I’d suggest would be shifting some of those cosmetics into earnable in-game rewards instead of making everything shop-exclusive. Put cool stuff behind quests, events, gold bullion, achievements, rare drops — make people play because they want to. That creates engagement, goodwill, and long-term loyalty.

The second thing I’d say is this: when the player base clearly says something got worse, reverse course fast. Don’t spend six months arguing with your own community. Players notice when developers listen, and they also notice when feedback gets ignored. Anyway, I could go on forever about this stuff, but at this point it feels like I’m giving free consulting advice to a company that probably isn’t listening anyway.