WC3,SC1 & 2, D1 and D2 were all designed as both single and multi player and it’s what they capatilised their empire on.
WoW also launched with zero micro transactions till mid TBC (depends on whether you count name changes) and added the capstone to their empire.
Regardless of the game you can create a masterpiece without sucking more money out of your clients. KOTOR(not swtor) was the prime example of a game that was arfully crafted,Morrowind was another,Dawn of war is yet another. I could list masterpiece games that built studio names into the powerhouses they are today, or were before Activision, EA and greed eroded their credibility.
Make a amazing game and you will profit from it. Aslong as you’re making a profit and can fund future developments then this entropic greed doesn’t need to happen.
Both EA and AVB share prices have plummetted recently, Bethseda is also dropping heavily and while the above 3 companies are profitable, they’ve smeared enough brown matter all over their names in the last 4 months that it will take them years if ever to recover.