The year was 2010, and I sat in my room on a hot summer night. Everyone in the house was asleep but me, and I was ready to play all night. I turned on my OG Xbox and popped in Halo 2. A few seconds after the Xbox loading screen, the game started up. I loaded up a new file, and I began the game. Unfortunately, it’s more complex now. 

Today, if you want to play a game, you must download the game, which can take up to a whole day, sometimes even more.  And even though you bought the game, you were not guaranteed the full game. 

The game of the year Baldur’s Gate 3 broke modern gaming stereotypes by being released as a full version of the game. No add-ons, no DLC, no new characters or creatures. Just one game, complete and ready to play. This might sound normal, but it’s not. 

In today’s gaming industry, most games are not done when they come out. Multiple DLCs tend to follow, along with add-ons.  And unfortunately for the gaming community, a lot of popular games have these unnecessary paywalls.

For most, this is very infuriating. But for some, they see it as a big win. Ubisoft Exec Philippe Tremblay, director of subscriptions, expressed his opinions on the situation. “ Gamers have gotten comfortable not owning games. As gamers grow comfortable in that aspect… you don’t lose progress,” Tremblay said. “So it’s about feeling comfortable with not owning your game.” In simpler terms, he believes owning your games doesn’t mean it’s yours. Yeah, you heard that right.

Now, there are a lot of things I disagree with here. First off, I believe that gamers should not have to be forced to buy DLCs to complete the main game. A game should be complete when it comes out, only having minor patches and updates here and there. DLCs should be optional to enjoy more content, not forced for companies to make more money. This includes Map Packs and the notorious Battle Pass.

There are multiple examples of this happening throughout the history of gaming. Most of the original Call of Duty, also known as CoD. CoD Black Ops games would include map packs, along with zombie packs. To play on certain maps, you would unfortunately have to purchase them. What’s worse is you would have to buy every single map pack in order to play all zombie maps. Another notorious game known for doing something similar but worse is Destiny 2. Its main campaign was decently long. However, after you completed the main storyline, you were done. Finished… unless you purchase the DLCs. As of now, the game runs on DLCs and the season pass.

Now owning a game and it not being truly yours, is just downright theft in my opinion. Game Pass is an amazing thing, allowing millions of people to download games for free without worrying about them being taken from them. With this new agenda by Ubisoft, this might begin to fall apart. And even if you buy the game, that doesn’t guarantee you keep it. One of the main reasons companies are deciding to switch over to this new way is money. 

If this is what gaming has come to, then a lot of gamers might give up on newer games. This is not what the gaming industry was built on nor what it should be. Change is inevitable,  but not all change is good. Forcing money out of people’s pockets is not what games were meant for. They were meant to connect and have fun with other people. They aren’t meant to be cash grabs. Because if buying is not owning, piracy is not stealing.