It’s what happens with companies, isn’t it? A group of passionate, creative people make something - something they LOVE, are proud of, and they want OTHER people to love it - sure, a big part so they can make money, but because THEY are excited about it and love it when others are too.
Then, it gets sold or merged or new people who just want a JOB come in. They might LIKE the game but they weren’t there in the beginning when things were really rough, when they had to get CREATIVE to solve problems (for lack of resources) and they appreciated people who bought their products. (Apparently, they were so passionate that they had loud arguments for hours, but that’s a whole other topic . . .)
And the further it goes, the bigger it gets, the more of its soul is leeched out. Then whatever it is, is there JUST to make money. Sure, the devs, the people who work on it are still passionate - they want to be proud of their work, but so many near the top either no longer care or can’t AFFORD to care because the board or the shareholders or CEO of the BIGGER soulless, heartless company just wants $$$ and demand that pesky things like doing the right thing and treating customers well just aren’t worth it if it takes too much money, resources or time. Screw the customers, lay-off the workers (because WHO NEEDS to test games? And we have FORM LETTERS or maybe AI to answer tickets).
They don’t care how we feel as long as enough of us are buying the big ticket items - like the brutosaur. They don’t care if we quit, because there are enough whales that will keep buying gold tokens so they can buy carries or the best BoE gear on the AH or the best mats to get stuff crafted thru work order. Who cares about what . . . $13? $15 a month? Not when you have people probably dropping $20 or more anytime they feel they need to do so to stay ahead.
We, the players, who pay whatever, are NOT the actual customers. We are part of the PRODUCT that the company uses for their REAL customers - the shareholders. When it gets to this stage, the company I think, is completely bereft of soul.