Gaming in 2025

I believe that I have scrapped and written this blog post about 15 times by now; I'd write a few paragraphs, read it back to myself, and then think that it's not worth posting due to changes in how I felt about it. Gaming has been probably my biggest hobby throughout my entire life, so it's natural that I'm passionate about it and some of the minor details. I've owned many consoles and built a few custom PCs in my time, playing through tons of games, buying games that I've never put time into (shamelessly massive Steam library), the list goes on and on.

But something has been going on for the last few years that I want to expand upon and write some notations down. Gaming, as a whole, has really taken a plunge in a negative way in the last 5-10 years, abandoning things that used to make it great. And although there are some positives left, I'm starting to feel that the bad outweighs the good.

As I'm getting older, it's an odd feeling that you are literally seeing your life long hobby slowly deteriorate right in front of your eyes. On one hand, you are sad to see it happen, but on the other hand, you realize that maybe your stance and principals are more important, that you don't want to play ball anymore.

DLC and IAPs

My opinion on DLCs have changed over the years. I used to think that all DLCs were a rip off and that the content provided should've been in the original game to begin with. I used to ask why didn't they just launch 1-3 months later, include it all in one package, done? But, ya know, greed or whatever. It didn't take long until DLCs were the norm and that developers could just ship the first half of the game, while withholding the other half that would release over time. I understand the why behind it, I really do, but it's the principal of the matter. This isn't a blanket opinion across all games because yes, there are some DLCs that are worth the extra purchase. For me, it's either release it all together in a single package or just wait until it's ready to be that way. Being a patient gamer does pay off.

IAPs (In-App Purchases) are just stupid, plain and simple. Paying extra money for things like skins is just one of the more embarrassing, idiotic things that the gaming industry has come up with just to make an extra buck. And I know, it's a popular thing that millions of people buy into and "Hey, it's their money!", but shame on them for allowing it to become the norm. Things like skins, "cheats" and other IAPs should always have been something that you EARN in the game, not pay for. Doom Eternal is a good example. Do you want the collectible demon figurines? Play the game and collect them. Do you want the cheat codes? Play the game and collect them. It's really simple.

Quality Over Quantity

It's no surprise or secret that game developers have found ways over the years to "cheat" their way into making a "quality" game. Whether it's a lack of content, fake frames, or poor optimization, it seems like there is always something that brings a game into a "quantity over quality" state. I understand that creating games today with the latest technology means that there are challenges we haven't faced yet, problems we haven't solved yet, more complication, more time and resource required, etc, but it sometimes just feels like an excuse. What happened to taking pride in your product? It seems as though few game developers know this anymore. Maybe being a PC gamer for a few decades has ruined some of this viewpoint for me, but I'm leaning on the side of doubt. Why shouldn't we as consumers expect high quality and fidelity in what we purchase and enjoy?

Maybe this doesn't fit on this topic but game demos need to be a standard again for ALL games. Luckily Steam offers a 2 hour window for a refund when purchasing a game, but for some games, it's not enough. Maybe a game doesn't work on your PC all that well, maybe optimization is trash, maybe the game isn't what you thought it was or you were mislead due to descriptions and marketing, or maybe the game has a super long intro that you can't skip. We've all been there. But it's a sad fact that piracy is the only answer to these problems.

I don't have the best PC in the world so when it comes to playing newer games that has questionable performance, downloading a copy for a trial run is my only option.

Finally, game optimization is something very important to me. I won't go into great detail, but I believe that all games across all platforms should run at 1080p/60FPS at the bare minimum, period; this should be the standard. More importantly, anything below 60FPS in 2025 should be publicly shamed, as there is no excuse. Low frames breaks immersion, and creates messy gameplay and controls that reduce enjoyment. Resolution, textures, and shadows can be important, but not as much as the frame rate.

One thing that I'm a little scared of is that Doom The Dark Ages is forcing ray tracing, which means that people with not so great hardware can't even run the game at a decent framerate. According to the specs, I may be "able" to run it on Low settings at 1080p/60. I get that ray tracing makes things look better, but removing the option to turn it off really freaks me out, especially since this is a game I've been looking forward to for a while. I simply don't have $500+ to purchase a new GPU. Time will tell how well it will perform on my PC.

The Future of Gaming

Yesterday, Nintendo officially announced the Switch 2, revealing details about pricing, hardware, games, etc, and let's say that this was very alarming as a gamer. $450 for the console is a bit much for what you get (arguably, the Steam Deck is a better option for the money), but more importantly, the methodology behind this new system is what disappoints me the most. First, $80 for a digital game copy and $90 for a physical copy is just absurd. People are blaming inflation and tariffs, but if you focus on the selling of digital copies, Nintendo can make whatever price they want; it's in their control.

The second thing is that the level of DRM is mind boggling. Most game cartridges won't even have the game content on them, thus prohibiting the ability to preserve games or using offline entirely. You will still have to download it from the eShop/Nintendo's servers, but you will also have to insert the cartridge any time you want to play the game.

Next, you can't use just any type of SD card anymore. You have to use MicroSD express cards. This isn't a dealbreaker, but you can't use your SD card from your Switch 1 or one you might have lying around the house. Yet another purchase.

I could go on and on about this, or my Switch 1 ownership experience over the last 5 years and how I've cringed at buying Nintendo games for full price (even years after their release), but the reality of what's to come is very bleak: people will happily buy the Switch 2, games, and accessories, and won't think anything about it. Nintendo will make all kinds of money and they will blaze the trail for other platforms and game publishers to jack up prices and introduce ridiculous forms of DRM, all of which are anti-consumer. We, the consumer, are being punished for trying to enjoy their products.

Other examples: Grand Theft Auto 6 is heavily rumored to be the first game to start at the $100 price tag. The problem with this is that although it may be worth the price, it will encourage the market so that all future games will start at that price as well. PC hardware, specifically GPUs, have a very high price tag due to the AI boom going on right now. But for those of us who have a family and other things in life, we just can't afford a $600+ GPU just get a decent experience with newer titles. And finally, what about game preservation? Game companies are making this worse and worse as time goes on, but this is a whole other topic for another day.

My Future in Gaming

Over the last 4-5 years, I've read the writing on the wall that Microsoft will eventually get Windows to a point where it will no longer be a viable operating system for PC gamers. Windows has unfortunately become an ad-ridden, no privacy having, former version of itself that I'm not a fan of. I've done my preparations and testing very thoroughly, testing multiple distributions, weighing the pros and cons. Eventually, my next big step is officially moving over to Linux full time from a lifetime on Windows.

The only thing holding me back at this point is that I have 2 months of free PC Game Pass to use and more importantly, it will heavily depend on how well Doom The Dark Ages performs on Linux, as that game will be my obsession for years to come like Doom Eternal has been.

But I want to take a step back and gain a fresh perspective, to look at things for what they are, not what they could be. I don't want to be like other people, blinded by fandom or claiming allegiance to a company that doesn't care about me. I don't want to purchase hardware or games that "could" be something that it will never be. But the good news is that my hobby is what I make it. It can be all over the place and chaotic, or it can be respectful and calm. Like any other gamer, I do have the choice to participate or not. Yes, this all sounds very elementary and obvious, but not many people follow through. FOMO, gaming with friends, online trends, etc, all seem to force our hand from time to time and we join right in, regardless of what we believe.

Looking down the road and into the future, I can see myself taking a slower approach and not participating in newer titles, enjoying games that were released years ago and that run well on my PC. I can see myself on Linux, leaving Windows behind. I can see myself not putting in as much time into gaming as I once used to. I can see myself purchasing a future laptop without worrying about the GPU inside. I can see myself only gaming on a Steam Deck going forward. Maybe it's time for that change.