I was playing the 2016 version of Master of Orion, and it’s a perfectly fine game, something akin to Civilization in space, it’s just not nearly as complex or interesting as Stellaris. Stellaris has created the ultimate space strategy game, and keeps adding new mechanics and features. I don’t really see why anyone would need to make a space strategy game again.
Fortnite.
It became such a phenomena that people who don’t play games knew that game.
It was free, and yet more profitable than other developers could even dream.
Thus, everyone is trying to capture that lightning. And mostly succeed. This is in the form of skins and battle passes and XP boosts.
It’s no longer about buying an $80 that is good on its own. It’s about live service with FOMO driven content that addicts lesser minds. And it works.
Gaming suffers for it.