They’re definitely slow-cooking something, but I’m not entirely sure it’s “pay to win”… or at least, I doubt that’s quite the case yet. Unfortunately, it’s probably not far behind.
But they are absolutely creaking that door open to even more ridiculously-expensive “micro” transactions. Not WoW or even Blizz, but didn’t someone put out a $500 skin in an online game? I forget which, but the door to conspicuous consumption in online games is opening wider and wider.
Though I expect the line to be drawn at loot boxes, we won’t be seeing those for a long while. There was some legal troubles because they started to look a LOT like gambling in something targeted at children. While I’m not entirely, loot boxes are a LOT less prolific (or at least a lot more low-key) compared to what they were a few years ago.
In any case, there’s more “upselling” going on. Convincing the customer to buy stuff that’s either more expensive or just in addition to what they came in looking for. Something that can, hypothetically, be stopped by a keen-eyed and discerning customer… but the old saying holds true: