When Games Become a Second Job

Video games have become more and more like a second job. With dailies, time limits, battle passes, and in-game cash grinding, live-service games have become more and more like work instead of fun.
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[@FANTAVISION]

Wondering how games become jobs in the first place? Watch my other video about gaming addiction! kzbin.info/www/bejne/pni6ZaWom7VnidE

[@gligarguy4010]

Ive been able to avoid this by not having friends at all. It comes in handy sometimes.

[@FANTAVISION]

Ooooof

[@autumnmod]

amen to that brother. learn to love solitude

[@oriongear2499]

I would want to have friends. Just friends who, like me, aren’t fans of Live-Service “Games”.

[@bluenimbus86]

😂😂😂😂 MY MAN! I avoid Online Multiplayer Games all together. I prefer local couch multiplayer and single player games.

[@Ay-xq7mj]

Yeah only MP games i play are from like 2005 or earlier.

[@ricogt7092]

Reject multiplayer embrace single player

[@FANTAVISION]

Agreed

[@jiggerypokery2962]

I'm nearing 5000 hours of mostly modern AAA titles and have yet to engage with a battlepass. Surprising most games don't have one

[@Ethan5985.]

I disagree. I think they should focus on co-op because not everyone likes single-player games. Let them be solo or co-op and don't lock bloody achievements behind co-op

[@jiggerypokery2962]

@@Ethan5985. I hate co-op.

[@blaster2000]

ye

[@theemagicalgurl]

Agreed. The gaming industry doesn't respect our time and lives. It's painful for casual people nowadays.....

[@FANTAVISION]

They don’t respect our wallet either lol

[@theemagicalgurl]

@@FANTAVISION yep. See $70 games with season passes and microtransactions. Simply the worst.

[@Yobama007]

I keep saying games are too big and long and you’d think I just threatened to unalive someone. For example Elden Ring is too long but that community is OBSESSED and you can’t say anything bad about it.

[@xan8123]

@@Yobama007seriously agree they’re not digestible anymore

[@l.3626]

This is true, but it's also BC many games are actually designed to be a 2nd job time wise BC people have nothing better to do. A good game needs to be scalable, where the players can play 5-100h per week, but can decide himself and is not forced into any 2nd job feelings

[@JamesScholes]

Back in the 90s, if you wanted to unlock the additional characters, content and bonuses, all you'd do is put in a secret code while in the game and you'd get it all for free.

[@МихаилЧернега-й1у]

Still bad practice in my opinion. In best games you get additional characters, costumes, contents, endings, weapons by beating the game on hard difficulty or with some limitations. It was much more rewarding then just “put in secret code”

[@computernerd8157]

​@@МихаилЧернега-й1уAgreed.

[@computernerd8157]

I dont mind earning cool things as long as the game is not like two moons designed to keep me on the game where grinding become a joke after so long. Where is Two Moons today? Its a dead MMORPG lol ,nobody plays it anymore.

[@ZombiAstral]

It's not *FOR FREE* you dunce. You already paid for, or rented the game. The content is already there in the *PAID FOR* package.

[@Phirestar]

The problem with the live service model is that every single company wants their own slice of the pie. And each of them wants _their slice_ to be the _biggest_ slice. And some of them want to take _multiple_ slices and have all of them be the same size. Unfortunately - for them, that is - the problem is that the pie is a finite resource, and you are only able to cut into so many slices and serve it. And once you’ve done that, once the pan has been emptied, the only way to get more slices is to attempt to steal some off of another company’s plate, and you’re not going to get away with doing that every time. Sometimes you’ll snag a bite, and sometimes you’ll get a fork stabbed into your hand. And eventually, in your hasty efforts to all try and take bits off each others’ slices, the pie’s gonna start falling apart and the only thing that will be left is a bunch of crumbs and icing smeared all over the place. And then everybody will wait around until someone comes along and serve a brand new pie, and they’ll repeat that process, of destroying perfectly good dessert out of selfish greed, all over again.

[@lightdarksoul2097]

Some games do seem like they may never die. FF14, Fortnite, Genshin

[@swiftrealm]

@@lightdarksoul2097 They will. Everything dies.

[@lightdarksoul2097]

@@swiftrealm tell that to league player like roaches they're invincible

[@ComradeChyrk]

On top of that, once that theoretical end point where they have to then steal people from other live service games to grow, they are going to find that it is very difficult to persuade people that have been spending all that money all that time on a different game to drop all of that and hop on your game.

[@l.3626]

Nah, those companies want no slice, they want the whole pie. Escape from Tarkov as example wipes your whole progress for no reason every 6 months which makes it impossible to play unless you start to play early wipe and then dedicate time and motivation to it as if it was a 2nd job, BC it's also not fun.

[@zackwa99]

Great topic. One of the biggest issues with modern day online multiplayer. In the quest for "engagement" they prioritize these fomo tactics. Having fun is no longer the objective!

[@FANTAVISION]

Thanks and EXACTLY!

[@knleonhart]

Meanwhile great non-predatory games continue to not meet their financial targets

[@FANTAVISION]

True true, many great games fly under the radar, but there are definitely the outliers.

[@MacenW]

HiFi Rush

[@Kalitayy]

@@MacenWXbox shut them down unfortunately

[@Drstrange3000]

Sadly, this is true. I have seen so many nonpredatory games fail to make anywhere near bigger games that do exploit players. Hi Fi Rush (Partially Xbox's fault for having it on GamePass Day 1 and shaddow dropped) and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. One of the few Ubisoft games without any predatory practices and free updates with plenty of content, polish, and good Metroidvania is met with less enthusiasm and support than most of UBisoft's catalogue.

[@joned1000]

Shoutout to friends vs friends. Great game non p2w

[@lahuk1194]

Battle passes are just a means of selling stuff that would¡ve been in the game as standard 10+ years ago. You used to get skins, weapon unlocks, attachments, etc just as a byproduct of playing the game at your own pace, now you have to both pay for the privilege and rush for it too. Plus, it can be used as a cover for the dev not finishing the game before release and paying them extra for their laziness.

[@FANTAVISION]

Sad but true

[@wisterian_dark]

i'm glad i'm not the only one who feels this way. i hate feeling pressured to do anything, let alone pressured into playing a game that's supposed to make me feel *less* stressed, not more!

[@FANTAVISION]

Exactly! Life is stressful enough and my day job has more than enough deadlines to worry about

[@LouisianaCityboi]

They’re trying to form a habit. Some games even reward you for simply logging in. If you log in, you’ll probably play, at least for a moment. - The first step towards addiction is habit formation.

[@FANTAVISION]

Exactly! It’s the laziest way to retain players. Why make it fun when they can make it addicting?

[@LouisianaCityboi]

@@FANTAVISION It’s awful. When we say stop turning AAA gaming into mobile games, this is what we mean.

[@NiohArcadia]

What sucks is that an entire generation of kids/young gamers have grown up only knowing Battlepasses and playing games like a job. This is normal for them and once we grow out of the medium when everything is nothing but live services they'll be feeding thst machine.

[@FANTAVISION]

And that’s exactly what they want. They’ve normalized free-to-play monetization in full priced games. It’s sad and only going to get worse.

[@Dr._Nicolas]

We need to teach the younger generation to play older games and low paced own kind of rewarding games, make tik toks and recomend games, create content, memes, be creative and show them that these game fomentate their imagination, like my father used to do with some toys or my grandpa with backyard games.

[@FANTAVISION]

lol YES!

[@Drstrange3000]

@@Dr._Nicolas I've been trying, but my young relative would rather buy a $200 skin in a live service game. I even gave them my old handheld console with a couple games.

[@dragon13304]

I find it sad that kids these days won't get to properly experience late 90s and early 00s gaming before the HD era. Those were the days.

[@AstonishingRed]

Hearing people talk about coming off of live service games is like hearing someone talk about their experience with coming off of drugs. I don’t play multiplayer games outside of fighting games, which don’t ask for any commitment from the player. I mainly enjoy single player gaming experiences and my love for gaming continues to burn brightly because of this I believe.

[@lucasLSD]

They do now, every current year fighter has a battle pass.

[@l.3626]

So true: escape from Tarkov " Are you playing this wipe? Did you play last wipe? Will you play next wipe? I hate this wipe I love this wipe I want to try out this wipe at least I already spend so much time this wipe I keep playing but I won't play next wipe "

[@JFrombaugh]

And it actually does work on the same dopamine receptors in the brain that give real drugs their addictive qualities.

[@OhHeyItsJessica]

This is why I follow the rule of: If I complete the battlepass before buying it I then think about buying it.

[@FANTAVISION]

That’s smart! However, many battle passes give a boost when you’ve bought it to make getting it faster.

[@OhHeyItsJessica]

@@FANTAVISION If I can't beat the pass without a boost I probably wasn't going to beat it anyway haha

[@Niko-J-438]

​@@FANTAVISIONBeing real those boosters are more a tactic to make you buy it earlier than a real boost

[@ParanoiaXYZ]

​@@Niko-J-438Yeah those boosters are trash It's like going from 1000 xp to 1050 xp

[@MaxPotatoesLucky]

That’s actually a smart way to think and approach it

[@Skytex1983]

That's one thing I like about HellDivers 2. Once they release a "battlepass" it's released. Buy it when you want to. Complete it when you want to. I've got items on the first paid battlepass from 3 or 4 months ago that I haven't unlocked and I'm in no hurry to do so. You may grind to get the few items you really want, but then the rest is there when you decide to pick it up.

[@andyd3447]

Its still live service...

[@jurijdjokovic2018]

​@andyd3447 that doesn't make it bad

[@andyd3447]

@@jurijdjokovic2018 it definitely does and most of those games are predatory trash.

[@warrbrand6410]

@@andyd3447 most and this game is not part of that most

[@Bimmerboybobby]

@@warrbrand6410if it had a battle pass it is inherently bad. You are apart of the reason the industry has shifted the way it has

[@justinmacchiaverna4028]

Simple solution to avoid these triggers: play only retro games! Not only is the sheer amount of choice in the library engaging enough, but there’s multiple platforms for you to choose, so you’re never bogged down by a single one.i have a Wii, GameCube. DS, 3DS, Switch, XB360, and OG Xbox library, and I love going into each and every one of them! Only you can break the fomo cycle.

[@DJ239]

This is the way.

[@jiggerypokery2962]

You don't have to play just retro games. In fact I've been able to play 4,627 hours of games since I got my PS4 playing mostly AAA modern games without ever touching a battle pass.

[@francisquebachmann7375]

Retro games brought me back to enjoying games agains. Maybe modern games just felt like a chore without all the fun.

[@bluenimbus86]

Yesssssssssssssssss

[@Danny-mp8dq]

Or just make educated purchasing decisions and only buy good single-player games

[@Vexruhh]

This recently happened to me with the last apex season when I was trying to get a certain skin

[@MacenW]

I feel that, I did a few season passes but I don't take apex seriously as much as I used to

[@nickevershedmusic8927]

By any chance was this the reactive flatline skin from the weekly challenges?

[@jayus2033]

@@nickevershedmusic8927no but I grinded for the rarest gay

[@roastking-1]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnqZqZVjmbKlibMsi=5EWtpWLVd93yIieH

[@phon14593]

I had this sentiment since the reboot of Modern Warfare in 2019. I’ve been in the loop as long as I can remember, and I tried to unlock every single item in the franchise but in MW3 I felt like it became too grindy so I stopped playing as a whole. Time is invaluable and with that much limited time in my life I would rather have fun trying out new experiences. Your video really summed the reason behind my exhaustion up completely and I thank you for that.

[@Truekingr6]

Amen bro. I went back to PS2 and GBA games lol

[@Idfkwhyy]

I like it when a game makes me WANT to waste my time instead of FORCING me to waste my time

[@dr.20xx74]

I feel this sometimes with certain games because they're the only games my friends want to play and sometimes it feels like I get dragged into playing. I've learned to say no and value my own free time and the games I actually want to play and so should anyone who feels like the game they're playing is more of a job than an actual fun game.

[@nightmarishcompositions4536]

I grew up on single player jrpgs and action adventure platformers on PS1, PS2, PSP, Gameboy, N64 and GameCube. I feel sad for anyone that didn’t get to experience or grow up in that golden age of great games.

[@thenegromancer4695]

Fortnite damn near has two battle passes to grind after you hit the final tier you have to basically get 100 more levels to get the recolors its ridiculous

[@FANTAVISION]

It actually has 3 battle passes now lol

[@coltonwilkie241]

5 passes now. There's a pass for Lego Fortnite and the music mode. Absolute insanity.

[@manateerpg1396]

I’ve come to realize lately with my relationship to video games is that games in general take up way too much of my time. I find myself not being too competitive with these multiplayer online games like Apex Legends or even single player games like Fallout 4/Skyrim or any other open world games that require time. All games essentially require time but like you said with the Battlepass system, it forces you to complete the BP before it vanishes and losing all the rewards forever. It feels like homework honestly. BP system reminds me of the dopamine hits people get from social media with the likes and comments. There’s only so many games with the BP you can handle or have time for. And yep, just like you said, it feels like a job. COD I’ve been playing recently but only for the recent Gundam RX-78 skin and getting the rewards just for that. lol I really like Gundam. But yeah, I don’t pay for any BPs anymore. Anyways good to see you back. 👍

[@justjgameplay5045]

Same, unlocking the event stuff is actually super quick, I’ve played like 2 times in the last month or so and I just unlocked the event rewards, double xp makes it fly by too

[@jimjones9631]

I've just tried to focus on the video so badly and can't unsee the ghost shirt and just think "man he has such good tastes. I bet if I listened to the video I would agree with it but also I can't unhear the marathon of ghost music in my head now"

[@FANTAVISION]

Hahaha well thank you good sir, and as a massive fan of ghost, hearing them in your head instead of me talking is definitely not a bad thing.

[@jimjones9631]

@@FANTAVISION for sure man. Usually I don't get distracted like that but it's something my kid has been bonding over me with. Kind of adorable to hear a 6 year old singing Absolution to himself before going to bed. Honestly though you hit the nail on the head in the video. Like I avoid games now even if I enjoy them because I know I can't commit to them because of the sheer engagement mechanics shoved in. Ironic given that I'm an MMO player that MMOs like FF14 and WoW shifting away from making daily chores forcing you to log in while games like call of duty are doubling down on those exact same systems

[@FANTAVISION]

That’s adorable and I aspire to have my future kids be the same way haha And MMOs are shifting away from this model? How so? If you have a discord, I’d love for ya to join mine! Much easier to have a conversation there than on my comment section lol

[@jimjones9631]

@@FANTAVISION for sure man. Sorry, been busy with stuff but I'll hit up the discord

[@MultiKenny122]

Love the runescape music in the background

[@MohamedSaber007]

I've never played an online multiplayer game other than Fortnite for a few weekends in 2019 and a game called Ghost in the Shell: First Assault on and off for 2 months in 2016, that's it. That allowed me to play over 600 proper single-player story-driven games in just 9 years (indie and AAA) and I've finished over 450 of them and I'm very proud of that

[@PizzaCat4yhwh]

I remember when i used to play games 8-10 hours a day. Now im lucky to play 8-10 a week

[@FANTAVISION]

That’s pretty much where I’m at too.

[@Joe-ti7qd]

Same. I don't play video games nearly like I did just a few years ago. It's gotten boring.

[@fluxx7217]

But why tho . I hear this so often but Im a 27 year old that works in shifts and during the weekend . I have friends , a fiance and do sports . Still I get to play at least 30 hours a week easily . Also I dont live with my parents so I have also household things todo

[@fluxx7217]

Only thing I can think of why people have 0 time for games is kids tbh . And if thats the case , get a steam deck and try that playstyle out

[@scottybones]

Was literally thinking yesterday, "damn fanta hasn't posted in a LONG ASS TIME....WTF HAPPENED TO THIS DUDE?? today was a fun gift!

[@FANTAVISION]

Haha I’m still alive!

[@toxic_zombie_3618]

I wish companies would understand that if you don’t unlock all the goods from the Battle Pass, that a refund might be the option! Or make it free. Because the timed event is stressful if you work n stuff outside of the Pass.

[@lightdarksoul2097]

I don't think a refund would be something they'd consider because you still got something so refund wouldn't work

[@theglassarrow_]

@@lightdarksoul2097 Partial refund via in game currency might work as a place holder for this idea, I dont think it would happen however.

[@lightdarksoul2097]

@@theglassarrow_ i guess though you would still have to make an ai that thinks up what percentage you get back and I guess that's too much work

[@theglassarrow_]

@@lightdarksoul2097 That part isnt really hard, its just why would companies actually do this.

[@black4halo]

Monetization of fear if missing out is the death of the casual game

[@CidCDdrafts]

Ghost Ship Games casually making the best, most consumer friendly battlepass system known to man and dwarf alike: 🗿

[@Elguapodelfuego]

Brother your channel is on the path to a million subs. The quality is finally at that point. Keep grinding, keep posting. Ima be happy when your channel gets huge

[@Elguapodelfuego]

Didn’t realize this was fantavision until 5 minutes in. I was smoking, paying less attention to the screen. Your videos have gotten so much better, the editing, pace, audio. Good shit bro! I haven’t watched since you made GameStop story videos

[@FANTAVISION]

Thanks man! Really appreciate it!

[@Wotvr]

League of Legends player here. Even though I already decided to take a break from the game this year to focus on the backlog, your video still resonated with me. I haven't played League or any other multiplayer grind game since early February and have focused primarily on playing games from my backlog. The only game that I played this year that released this year was Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. Every other game has been a single-player game from my backlog and its been absolutely outstanding. I have not touched my PC in months. I've played so many amazing games on my Switch this year. Octopath Traveler II, Signalis, Harvestella, and many others. Just started Astral Chain the other day and loving it. I wouldn't have had half of these experiences if I was still grinding ranked solo queue games on League.

[@FANTAVISION]

It’s amazing how many experiences with other games that live service games rob you of.

[@Over9000Chainz]

When I first found this channel years ago, I was a broke part time worker and I spent the majority of my time playing Destiny. You literally had to treat it like a job, or you would fall behind every time an expansion came out. Now, almost 7 years later, I simply do not have the drive to play video games like that anymore. I find myself avoiding multiplayer games because of this reason, they ALWAYS want you coming back. That’s why they lock rewards behind a paid battle pass, why some games offer additional transactions toward the end of the pass so you can get the stuff you missed, and why some games don’t let you earn credits to get the next pass without buying. It’s insane how much gaming has changed. Also, thank you for being so impactful on my outlook on gaming over all these years!

[@FANTAVISION]

Thanks for sticking with me for so long! And yeah, those games went from the threat of falling behind to the threat of losing the money you already spent.

[@joshandersn]

Should rename the video to "when multiplayer games become a second job"

[@FANTAVISION]

Ubisoft tried to make Assassin’s Creed a second job by being incredibly grindy. A few other “AAA” single player games have tried as well so unfortunately, even they are not immune.

[@joshandersn]

@@FANTAVISION I agree there are some cases. Halo MCC has a battle pass-like system that you don't need to play online matches for. Great video btw

[@ElComanche]

I’m still shocked you don’t have more subscribers… love this channel

[@ExecutionDbl9]

My way of combating it is just to not pay for the battle pass until Ive made enough progress to get the items that I want. Most all of them allow you to unlock retroactively after you've paid

[@DOOM-kronicills]

GTA online. Fucking hell, don’t even know where the enjoyment comes from anymore. Buying a car to drive to another poorly designed repetitive mission

[@TommyVercetti209]

I was looking for someone to make a comment about gta online. It’s so damn true

[@johnnycash_]

Yep, had this same experience with Destiny 2. I was a long-term player from Destiny 1 and was so invested in D2 in both time and money, but whenever I took a break and came back on, it was all exactly as you described, so I just stopped playing. Great video Fanta. A sad truth it is.

[@bolladragon]

This is exactly how I felt with FFXIV! I don’t want to go back, and after quitting a year ago and actually enjoying playing other games or just doing other things besides the grind without any sense of guilt for falling behind. It’s so hard to explain that sensation to people, I think. Gaming addiction is real.

[@FANTAVISION]

It really is. I remember losing friends to World of Warcraft.

[@mat4246]

The video focuses on GaaS/multiplayer games, but the rule applies to single player games too - it takes a form of the "gaming backlog" and manifests as "I need to play/beat all the games I bought" through the sunk cost fallacy too.

[@a.m.7438]

Many of my personal stresses are merely because I haven't gamed in a long while and focusing on my job all the time really leaves me such little room to restore enough energy to divert attention and focus to gaming on my days off, because that time is spent handling chores and doing personal upkeep. I live alone and everytbing is on me. So when I do get a moments rest, the only thing my brain wants to do, even though I'd love to get back into gaming, is to not do anything at all. I'm just...tired all the time. Eberything costs too much, it's exhausting.

[@Joe-ti7qd]

Feel you. I like naps when have free time

[@TheLexikitty]

I’ve never understood multiplayer games - the idea of strangers running around inside my stress-free escapism hobby just doesn’t click for me - but I remember getting an email trying to sell me some sort of battle pass and being shocked that they expiated. Like, you want me to buy a product and then will randomly lock it away again if I don’t play it right now???

[@ogre706]

It feels like being an older generation of gamer that grew up in the 8-bit era is what has helped me avoid these grindy games-as-jobs. Back then, games were designed to simply be fun. And perhaps make a little money, so that the designers could keep the lights on and survive to make another great experience. So once the first of these game-as-jobs showed up around 2004 it immediately struck me as not being any fun at all and was very easy to pass on. These days all my gaming is done offline with single player experiences, and I think it's a big part of why gaming stilll remains a fun time for me. Great video and discussion! 👍

[@waultz4143]

I haven't been online since around the times of CoD WaW , Modern Warfare 2 , GTA 4 so 2008-2010. (PlaySta-TION 3)! That is where it started and ended for me. The games were too time consuming, so I left it alone bc I wanted a gf when I was younger, I didn't want to spend all that time in my room. I quit playing very very fast and easily. I never went back bc as I got older I need to spend that kind of time at work, not in my room playing video games. I play PS2 games sometime, Because I can play and beat a mission and have a lot of freedom and fun doing it and do it all in under 30 minutes and way quicker or longer if I choose to.

[@ogre706]

​@@waultz4143 Having a girlfriend, and just having a connection with other people in general is a healthy thing. It's great that you realized the importance of that earlier on in your life. Too many of us learn this lesson the harder way and get closer to 30 before we realize how lonely we are. Gaming can be an amazingly fun time, but yeah I agree that we have to be able to stop at some point as well. Older games, like stuff on PS2, seem easier to do this with because PS2 games were usually not designed to be as addictive as a lot of the newer online games with their endless gameplay loops..

[@terminator_405]

Old school RuneScape fits the videos title perfectly. Constantly grinding to make chores easier.

[@taube_g]

Battle pass should be something that works as a daily reward for a month. Something you get for just logging into the game, it encourages you to play more without it being an obligation, but rather because you know you're going to win something cool if you go in this day and play a little for fun, it's a win win

[@PowerfulRift]

I hope this goes viral!

[@justin188541]

This is where I am with Foamstars. I bought a few passes, I'm getting over it. How many useless emotes and decals do I really need?

[@troy1993]

I had this experience recently with multiverses. I felt like I was just logging in to complete challenges to earn XP for the battlepass and it was moving so slow. I wasn't playing the game because I wanted to. I quit the game.

[@dabkatz8406]

4:27 bro just described how perishable food works.

[@FANTAVISION]

LOL you know what I'm saying though

[@evanthesquirrel]

The best meta is picking up an extra lunch shift or gig driving work if you don't know how much car maintenance costs and using that money to buy your skins instead of grinding in game

[@fernie2194]

Battle pass system also gives some games an excuse to cut content that should be free or belong in the base game as an exclusive item to be released later

[@nmkflvpttt]

Trophies are the bane of my existence. If I work on them, it feels like a chore but if I ignore them, I feel inferior because people who see my profile will think I suck at the game. I've lost touch with playing games for fun and it now seems like a second job.

[@Yobama007]

lol if people are judging you based on trophies then they have issues. My online status is perpetually set to offline, no one needs to know when or what I’m playing.

[@junyaiwase]

6:08 COD battlepass weapons are unlockable via challenge at the end of the season and are free to unlock u just have to pour time in. Unfortunae, but thought I should add that

[@kujas]

I don’t do battle pass, it’s worse when I thought loot boxes were better

[@michaelmemory6938]

Best reason to have the mindset of Occam’s Razor. The moment you see a red flag, drop it. It’s not worth your time, your money, or your sanity. We all know what they truly want, so make sure you are getting respected at a bare minimum.

[@aaronhall9077]

I honestly got a similar feeling when I started my attempt to 100% complete the Multiplayer mode for Doom (2016). I think I started in March 2020, and I got burnt-out around Autumn 2022. Over 2 years on-and-off playing. I got all the way to 78% complete (totalling to 10 days' worth of gameplay) when I thought: 'I've had enough of this, it feels like work'. As of Summer 2024, I have only just returned, after roughly 1.5 years of 'retirement' from it. Being a completionist is fine as for long as you're enjoying it. When the fun stops, there's no shame in talking a break or quitting all together if it becomes nothing more than an ordeal.

[@ironiclee9751]

I feel into this trap during lockdowns and learned my lesson, these days there are too many games trying to follow this business model and it doesn't work if I can't finish your battlepass or unlock guns or characters because you want to lock stuff behind a battlepass or limited time events then I just won't play.

[@dragon13304]

That's why I play single player games. All of my favourite games are from the PS1 and PS2 Era where there were no battle passes and all that crap and you got exactly what you paid for with no DLC or in game currency.

[@sand2025]

Destiny was that for me. It was like a fun job for a while, though. The bad thing is, after you get out, it's hard to get back in even if you want to because you feel like you've missed so much.

[@user-nw8nk9gp1f]

i feel like splatoon 3’s “battlepass” is a good example of doing it right(up until lvl 100 at least😭). its FREE, resets every 3 months, same exp for each level, and you get a bonus(almost 1 lvl in points) for the first win of each day and during special events. You can get special stickers, locker decorations, banners, titles, card packs, and gear but only emotes and card packs are gonna be somewhat exclusive to the catalog/battlepass. if i wanna grind to get the nice stuff, cool but you can still look dripped out without it. its not necessary in the slightest to finish the bp for casuals but if youre deep into splatoon you’ll either strive to get the lvl 100 emote or just get it naturally by never touching grass

[@user-nw8nk9gp1f]

it DOES expire, but i feel like you have more than enough time to complete it simply by playing like 30 minutes a day, grinding during a big run or splatfest, or grinding the week it ends as its a 1.5x bonus

[@thehiddenmist2637]

10:40-11:17 Around the end of 2023, I pretty much came to this same viewpoint. It just dawned on me how many great games I missed out on that year because I was stuck on the same multiplayer games. This year I’ve been spending way more time on other games and doing so has felt way more fulfilling.

[@FANTAVISION]

It sucks to cut out games, but the reward of being able to experience new things is definitely worth it!

[@AKindJester]

Super Animal Battle Royal also has battle passes that never expire, you can also work on a previous pass while on the current ongoing 'season'. :)

[@Elwood128]

Costco membership is like a battle pass, you have to pay to get in and if you don't spend enough money with them before your membership expires then you lose potential savings.

[@brendan9868]

Was having this issue recently, my friends all play MLB the shows version of Ultimate Team and this years game just felt super grindy and boring, I just didn’t feel like playing it. So I pitched them a revolutionary new idea of just gathering together whatever baseball gear we still have from high school or whatever and you know just going to a field and playing lol. We had a ton of fun, so now we just do that 1-2 times a week instead of wasting our time on MLB.

[@Luci-pz8xx]

My trick to avoiding Fomo is not caring about the cosmetics located in the battle pass or events.

[@FANTAVISION]

I can’t do that :( I unfortunately do love me some skins.

[@SelectKiko]

The runescape music in the background really brings it home

[@floppa9415]

I 100% agree and its so sad that its impossible to find new multiplayer games without this crap so I'm stuck playing 10 year old games like Battlefield, Black Ops 2 or Halo MCC. I'd much rather pay 100$ upfront for them to f*ck off with all this crap because I get it - things are getting more expensive especially with games. The high quality animations, model and textures we enjoy now don't create themselves. Furthermore I'm just so tired of games constantly adding new guns or rebalancing existing one. I hate reading changelogs and watching "this is the new meta" type of videos. I'm also very curious how GTA 6 is going to handle this in regards to GTA Online. People have invested a shitpload of money and time into that game and if they can't move over their progress I'd bet many never leave GTA 5 Online. Just like what happened with Payday 3.

[@lakelander2051]

I feel you so much on this. I enjoy Fortnite so much but the cosmetic system in place with the battle passes does feel more like a job then ever before. I just decided it doesn’t matter if I collect every item in a pass anymore. Gotta enjoy the game for the game not the stuff they try to sell you on.

[@lakelander2051]

My way to get off of it is to switch to single player games. Switching up from multiplayer game/ live service. Enjoy a game for the game and it’s gives it a breath of fresh air if you stop playing for a bit and come back after a solid break.

[@Smoothmagikarp775]

As someone who started playing Fortnite a year ago, I'm already feeling the burnout. I haven't even bought this season battle pass yet. Another thing that's making the experience worse is the FOMO. I can't buy Spider Man or Darth Vader because they came from a battle pass and they don't resell battle pass skins after that season is over. So what's even the point if I can't play as my favorite character Darth Vader? They're punishing the player for having a life outside of video games.

[@nickevershedmusic8927]

This is why i only get the battlepass when i know i'll continue to enjoy and play the game

[@keanureeves593]

You miss a 100% of the dogs you don’t pet

[@muelabruno66]

We only play runscape when we fall in depression

[@BurnabyBoyZippy]

My gaming time is 80% single player, 20% multiplayer. I only play MP with friends, and it's fairly rare. SP is just less stressful.

[@boomstickYT]

Hearing you talk about this subject with the runescape music reminded me of that game. OSRS doesn't have a battle pass or anything but that mmo subscription model can definitely create similar feelings of fomo and wanting to play even if you're not having fun. It's kind of like fortnite in that if you play enough you can sustain membership without spending any real money, but it does kill your enjoyment of the game.

[@nerdzone]

tbh, the battle pass type of transaction you described exists in other places. For example cinema tickets, train tickets etc. You book your ticket for a certain day, certain hour. You need to go an watch/travel at this exact hour or you miss out on your "goods".

[@FANTAVISION]

I mean kinda? Scheduled events are a time limited thing, but it’s not like you have to then do a bunch of jobs at the concert to unlock the ability to watch the band you paid to see. That does sound like a hilarious scenario though.

[@tomlion0116]

I am 30 years old. For my whole life I only played 2D/3D platform games, and AAA FPS and TPS Shooters. Gaming did get boring for me... Until I played my first beginner friendly JRPG's wich were Mario & Luigi SuperStar Saga and Monster Hunter Stories. Since that day I am obsessedy with turn based combat. I played Advanced Wars, Into the Breach, Fire Emblem Echoes, Hard West, Paper Mario 64 and (a really big one) Xenoblade Chronicles 1. Currently I'm playing The Thousand Year Door Remake and I think it's gonna be an all time favourite of mine and after that I will play Shin Megami Tensei 4 on my 3DS.

[@WillieDangerously]

Preach brother! Honestly, even without battle passes, online multiplayer games have this problem of feeling like it's by default on a timer. Between companies cutting online services on old console gens or just outright players leaving it, it feels like you only have a few years to play something if its an online game. Everything has daily achievements or missions now and that also super turns me off. Gacha games, Pokemon Go, MOBAs, hell even Animal Crossing has daily achievements ontop of the chores! Buying Splatoon feels like a battlepass is baked in with the seasonal catalogs, and when thst game's inline service one day gets cut like the first one's has all you have is a half baked single player campaign that barley gets anymore creative each iteration (for the actually good campaign you need to buy the dlc pack!) As the legendary Nintendo buisnessman Reggie Filsamie said, "If the game isn't fun, why bother?"

[@NiimsHD]

Bold of you to assume I have a first job.

[@Hippie2936]

I've learned to notice when I'm about to burn out on a game and stop there. Leave myself wanting. Otherwise I put it down and bever pick it up again.

[@ChadNarukami626]

This video really resonated with me I felt this way for the past 4 years since 2020 I felt like I wasted my life on these fomo games than learning new skills and experiencing new things. I still play fortnite because its the main game that's accessible to all my friends but honestly after coming home from a night shift and hoping on fortnite instead of other games I want to play or other activities I want to do like drawing, learning guitar/making music and editing. Buying a battlepass feels like I made a soul binding contract that I constantly think about. I think I found a way to get around this by having lego afk and doing something else its still not healthy but its the first step to actually doing what I want now

[@FuriousKai]

You are so right they should really just make all battle passes not expire

[@hamletwatson5561]

This is the best explanation of the current state of gaming I’ve heard. Basically only play single-player games now. I’ve starting going back through my library, and have enjoyed a lot of the older games more than anything which has come out in the past 2 years. Another method is the login bonus, which basically forces you to boot up the game at least once a day or suffer missing out on something in game. I eventually realized as I wasn’t even enjoying what I was doing. It was just another task to complete. As a result I’ve focused more on older and single-player games. They seem to still not be quite as predatory yet.

[@FANTAVISION]

Thanks man! I’ve also found myself enjoying older games more than modern games as well. It was great when games were just about being as entertaining as possible.

[@janky477]

I find if you play Mid Games that get Yellow Scores on Metacritic, or only care about the Social or competitive aspects of a game, then you're definitely going to spend time feeling like it's a second job.

[@eddieking6723]

This is exactly why I have always loved single player games. For example I stopped playing Alan Wake 2 for a couple months because of life. When I came back I not only didn't miss out on anything but there was a new DLC that I could play that wasn't contingent on doing anything but pay for it, download it and take as long as I need to get through it.

[@nickevershedmusic8927]

I usually go through the free battlepass first and see how much free in game currency i can aquire and if i'll be able to get a battlepass without spending anything, or spending very little

[@Tiff2Tiff]

I played Overwatch from 2017. Bought 50 lootboxes with each event for a couple years. Then stopped the game entirely. When OW2 came out with the worst battlepass known to man, I just accepted that I wasn't going to spend money on them and haven't since. I tend to gravitate towards single player games anyways though. Deep Rock Galactic has a battlepass without a premium one and no FOMO. All loot from incomplete battlepass gets put into normal lootpools. Love that

[@zojirushi1]

Play Deep Rock Galactic. The battle pass is free. No content locked behind a paywall. Only dlc is cosmetics but you can get plenty for free just by playing the game. There is no fomo. You can go back to previous seasons and keep your progress. Also you can find old cosmetics through lost packs/cargo crates found in levels. So nothing is ever truly gone forever in game. It’s season pass done right.

[@brsubwayfc]

To combat the FOMO with battle passes, I won’t buy one until I’ve unlocked the entire free component of it, so I know I’m not missing out.

[@FANTAVISION]

That’s the way to go!

[@thegiantratthatmakesalloft9415]

Games feeling like a job is a sign that you should get a real job

[@SilverSaber06]

This happens to me with single-player games when I get stuck, and then i struggle to pick it back up. Conversely, i used to play so much League with friends because I felt I had to. I'm glad I quit and started picking up single-player games and fighting games.

[@nickevershedmusic8927]

One recent example for me was the reactive flatline skin in apex, but to be fair it was free to unlock, just look a LOT of time

[@2rare2die26]

Played this video in the background while mindlessly grinding OSRS. Then I heard your background music. Audibly laughed

[@m_jay5]

Battle passes turn a game into working a 2nd job

[@DJ239]

I always play 3 or 4 games in rotation so I don't feel like an addicted zombie to one major open world RPG or multiplayer game. With all these big games now a days I just play for a few hours and then come back tomorrow while I switch to something else more arcade like.

[@taube_g]

Titanfall 2 doesnt have a battle pass, Progression comes from playing and that's a very good thing

[@MrMRMONKEY232]

Worth mentioning up there with halo infinite deep rock galactic is adding in the next season(which is next week at posting) the ability to reactivate any season and it's pass even if you didn't play then. And they are free. So the bar is was higher than even halo infinite set tbh

[@FANTAVISION]

Very very true! Deep Rock is such a great game.

[@kevdawgsports7503]

Standardized tests are kind of similar people have to pay hundreds of dollars just to take the mcat or lsat or sat with no guarantee of a good score

[@junyaiwase]

Fortnite definitely has become a job. i was gifted a battlepass last season and even that wasnt enough. It’s just hours of gameplay for very little progression