I have been avoiding multiplayer Valve games like Counter-Strike 2 and Team Fortress 2, due to their in-game economies that have created an underage gambling gray market, which Valve has done little about. However, I am on Linux, and the choices for multiplayer shooters are few. Besides, my small boycott is not stopping Counter-Strike 2 from being the most played steam game. Are boycotts really the best solution to stop this epidemic in gaming? How can we best prevent these gambling grey markets and the gaming to gambling addiction pipeline?
Do you have nay suggestions?
Pretty much any game with gatcha like the Hoyoverse games. These often have some sort of endgame paywall but it could take hours to reach it. If the game is bad or simply unplayable without gatcha its a bad game. Free premium currency can often be used for non-rng non-gatcha stuff.
Competitive games usually only have cosmetics so you can just use default skin, ignore battle pass and focus on getting good and having fun. Some people could even get salty for getting their ass handed to them by someome using default costume.