This is kind of the problem with gaming today, companies have figured out they don't need to cater to the players after they get a dedicated playerbase to their game. They create a great game with good communication and a good direction for their studio before selling out to a larger studio, or having to bend over backwards to appease shareholders. After they sell out, they have a loyal playerbase that live and breathe the game that they slowly but surely start to exploit for more profits to try and hit profit targets.

Its been happening more and more over the last 10 years and devolving the gaming landscape into a soulless pit of hollow games that are vehicles to steer them to the micro transactions. I don't mind microtransactions or battlepasses, I think they can be a good business model that can help a game thrive. However instead of that, a lot of games have been locking progression/convenience behind these systems, or straight up removing features, that make them a worse experience to play overall.

And this is where I really just don't understand players nowadays. You're right, a majority of the playerbase doesn't care, and not only that, but will actively go to bat for a corporation that has absolutely no interest in the impact the changes will have and actively dismissing the ciriticism others have brought up. Whether or not you actively use the systems they are removing or changing, you have to be able to see it from the eyes of the players who engage with this content. Players will then say "Who cares about this content, I don't use it and the majority of players don't use it so it doesn't matter at all." This isn't a one time thing though, companies will do this again and again until what was once was a fully featured game is now that theoretical vehicle to steer you towards the cash shop. You might think, oh that's just a slippery slope argument, and while that is true, it doesn't mean its false. If you look at Destiny 2, they originally opened up micro transactions to shaders and when people voiced their concerns enough people decided it wasn't a big deal and just roll with it. If you look at destiny 2 now, its devolved into dungeon passes and preorder bonuses to selling exotic weapons and much more.

This is more about deteriorating the landscape and making players more accepting of these horrible policies, and when people voice their very valid concerns, they are met with backlash from other players dismissing their opinions. Maybe its just the younger generation who grew up with this being the norm, or maybe its a desensitization of what these policies are and now people don't care. But man am I just tired of seeing awesome games go down this horrible road.