When it comes down to any video game, regardless of genre or platform, the top priority of game developers should be user enjoyment. Original music, memorable story, quality gameplay, and good visuals can definitely help reach this goal whenever applicable. 

Examples of iconic titles such as Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, and Where’s My Water? have stayed memorable because they have pioneered creative gameplay and prioritized players’ enjoyment of their products.

However, as the years have passed, the market has changed significantly. CEOs realize they can maximize profits by leaning more towards monetization, such as advertisements and paywalls. During this time, the world learned of the term “P2W” (Pay to Win), referring to video game structures that place players at a disadvantage for playing without using paid products. 

Games such as Genshin Impact, although not the pioneer of this practice, are infamous for their gacha mechanics, which are essentially gambling for characters and weapons. Some players have admitted spending thousands to tens of thousands of dollars on what are basically disguised slot machines, specifically to gain an advantage in the late game.

Another stark example of greedy monetization in video games is the Plants vs. Zombies franchise. Once beloved by many fans, it has become an example of this dark shift. 

The mobile version of the first game has an egregious amount of advertisements, numerous glitches, and even certain mechanics like lawnmowers being partially removed, now available only through watching ads. Additionally, the minigames–which are freely accessible on the desktop version–are paid for by in-game currency. Plants Vs. Zombies has one of the most harsh examples of this, with fundamental mechanics gutted and barred off for mobile players.

This, unfortunately, is one of the milder examples of how video games have been ruined for mobile. One of the most absurd incidents occurred with the Angry Birds franchise, where many of their most popular games were unlisted and vanished from the app store.

In 2019, Rovio, the company behind Angry Birds, suddenly removed numerous games from the app store, some of which were their most beloved and memorable, such as Angry Birds Star Wars, Angry Birds Epic, and Angry Birds Space. 

While the company claimed that updates for newer devices were becoming increasingly difficult, there has been no effort to preserve or revamp the games to help sustain their player bases. Many years later, a few online users continue to look back at these games with bitter nostalgia. 

One user posted, “A piece of my childhood I’ll never be able to play again…  due to corporate shilling…ever since they [Rovio] (evidently) stopped caring about it, I too stopped, especially when it became clear that monetary gain was what they were after – subtly increasing the price, more pay to win areas, and so on.”
Many players share this same sentiment, myself included, that corporate greed and disregard for the community’s enjoyment is what has hurt the brand, and inadvertently hurt mobile gaming as a whole.

Moreover, Something noticeable with modern mobile gaming is the loss of creativity. Since companies started realizing they can profit from repackaging the same thing over and over with different wrapping, they have maximized profits. Released in 2011 by Imangi Studios, Temple Run quickly became popular with its three-lane runner gameplay that stuck with gamers. 

Subsequently, other companies caught wind of this and began creating “clones” that pushed the definition of inspiration. Sonic Dash and Minion Rush are examples of these clones, attempting to capitalize on the success that Temple Rush had brought. Gamers now have to regurgitate the same content all over again, killing the variety that video gaming was supposed to bring, and leading to the overall decay of modern mobile gaming.

While the degradation of mobile gaming is unclear, it is obvious that corporate greed is the main perpetrator. With predatory monetization and sacrificing user enjoyment for the sake of profits, many games aren’t simply worth your time. Of course, there is no question that there still exists a plethora of good mobile games. However, the overall atmosphere of what’s on the app store feels depressing and colorless. If companies continue to neglect their playerbase and prioritize money, the damage will only worsen over time.