Popular content creator Dr Dirsespect has gone all-in against the gaming industry in a recent stream, where he called out multiplayer developers and publishers in particular over how much focus is placed upon microtransactions and cosmetics over fresh content.
He expressed his confusion with the current state of video games on Sept. 28, saying that “it’s not what [he] grew up with.” Dr Disrespect also added that the culture of gaming has been lost and needs to be found again.
He went on to add that gaming companies are now investing an incredible amount of money on projects like trailers for new cosmetic items when instead such huge budgets could be better spent on improving a title and adding core gameplay elements.
“I don’t know the state of this industry,” Dr Disrespect said. “It was literally about playing the games and the fun aspect of playing the game and the interaction of playing the games. But now people are getting hyped on high-production video pieces. We need to bring the culture back.”
The Doc said there were elements of the gaming industry that were thriving, however. He added that single-player games are doing exceptionally well—particularly the RPG genre thanks to the likes of Starfield and Baldur’s Gate 3. He believes these genres are carrying the gaming industry and making up for all the flaws that have emerged from multiplayer titles that have focused so heavily on additional microtransactions.
While the sentiment is justified, the Doc was met with heavy criticism for his comments since he himself has previously participated in the microtransaction scheme. His game, Deadrop, was funded primarily through NFTs and blockchain images that garnered a lot of attention in the past several years.
They were extensions of the cryptocurrency world, with many creators, including Dr. Disrespect, inviting their viewers to invest. Most lead to massive financial losses on the investor’s part with the NFT movement entrenched in fraud and oversaturation.
“Didn’t this guy help fund the development of his game with NFT skins of all things?” asked Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson on Oct. 6. Replies to the post have been generally critical of Dr Disrespect’s stance given his involvement with NFTs and cryptocurrency. “It’s like Logan Paul being an advocate against internet scams,” said one user.
Not only did Dr Disrespect promote a volatile financial investment such as NFTs, but he outright defended the decision. He claimed that NFTs won’t be required to play his game and that it “won’t be pay-to-win.” Nonetheless, he was then met with a heavy backlash from players and creators alike, with some prominent figures from the video game industry chiming in.
Seeing as his game’s snapshots are still available only to those who claimed his NFT “Founders pass,” he hasn’t changed his mind about using microtransactions as a source of income. With that in mind, his criticism of the gaming world and the industry—though they may ring true to some degree—is hypocrisy at worst.
In any case, the gaming community is progressing, and no one knows how the trend of microtransactions and skins will expand (or shrink) in the future. One thing is certain, though: a good game is enough to make it profitable purely by word of mouth. Just look at Baldur’s Gate 3; If Larian Studios can pull it off, with a little effort, so can everyone else—including the almighty Dr Disrespect.
