Mobile games, especially those that are free-to-play, are usually the hardest-hit areas by ads, microtransactions, and season passes — all those “tricks” that developers use to take money out of players’ pockets. That is one of the reasons why some players stop playing mobile games and go for PC and console to avoid such disliked features.
But these monetization strategies could also hit PC and console games, and they have always been poorly received whenever they appear. The most recent case is the ad slot in the loadout menu added by Activision to Call of Duty. It created a huge backlash and led to the developer removing it from the online game, saying it was a mistake that was not supposed to appear.
Recently, LocalThunk, developer of the hit poker roguelike Balatro, opened up about his attitude towards these extra paid features. He said in a Bluesky post: “The honest reason I don’t have microtransactions/season pass/ads/100 DLCs/etc in Balatro isn’t just about the ethics of those practices but because when I play other games that have those things it makes me want to put my computer in the dishwasher and set it to pots & pans.”
Balatro is available on PC, console, and mobile, and the experience remains the same — you pay for the game and are free from additional expenditures.
Although Balatro was a sensation and helped him earn $600,000 in a few hours, as an indie developer who quit his job to focus on development, LocalThunk is aware of the necessity and understands why some developers decide to include those in their games.
However, doing so would be harmful, he believes, as it will be “shooting your UX in the foot if players are having their first impression and also being bombarded with a bunch of nonsense that isn’t actually the game.”
