When business people take control of anything created. They ruin it. Period. Not just games. Businessman to an Artist, "You can't use yellow in the painting! We need to cut costs to increase profit!" I think is a good example I've heard. In general though I believe people are starting to get fed up with the ridiculous greed of the few everywhere. I did not buy '76 because EA taught me a valuable lesson when they ripped me off with Battlefront II, years ago. The first thing I look at when I see a new or up coming game, is the publisher. EA is an instant red light. That was my last purchase of their products and always will be the last. I've moved Bethesda beside them and will leave them there. They haven't wronged me, thanks to EA. Only Bethesda's actions can change my mind. But I'm not holding my breath. Business people don't care about the product. Bethesda is run by sharks, not gamers. On the plus side. I have discovered smaller developers and indie titles and have been enjoying myself. Merry Corporation Day and Happy New Year! PARTY LIKE IT'S 1999! Y2K! Still waiting for the lights to go out!,(reply>), @Luna Sakara you expect too much from a game in 2018,(reply>), My list of red flags; in no particular order.<br><br>* Online; Online focused game play.<br><br>* Current Trend; Is the game trying to chase current trends from other games?<br><br>* "It's better with friends" "Team up with friends" (So the game is shallow, or missing real creative work because I'm expected to have friends?)<br><br>* Publisher/Developer; Ranging from won't buy at all because of, to severe skepticism of considering purchase. <br><br>* Franchise; and is it fatigued. (annual releases are a no buy)<br><br>* Hype to information ratio; Is there a lot of hype but little factual information?<br><br>* PR; How well has the company the game is mad by communicated with fans, both now and in the past.<br><br>* Rampant tribalism, Is the fanbase rushing to defend the company after getting raked over the coals multiple times. (If they are, abandon any hope of getting a factual, critical and unbiased opinion on the state of the game, and company practices. It's usually a deal breaker to have a horrible tribal community defending their abusive god.)<br><br>* Micro transactions, raises concerns of potential abuse.<br><br>* Streamlining; Is this a squeal, or spiritual successor; if so, has the game's difficulty curve been slashed to "Make the game more inviting to casuals" Such as mutilating Roll play options in favor of a simpler, more linear narrative; or removing information available such as detailed damage and armor statistics, in favor of simple visual indicators (Like just saying this is better, use this; because you shouldn't have to make critical decisions based on in game information.)<br><br>* Online services; is the game, or majority of it; an "Online experience" that requires connection to an official server that in the event of server closure the game is effectively unplayable. I don't tend to give these games a chance.<br><br>* Mobile Port; Dose the game have any connection to Mobile, dose it have a mobile counterpart? Dose it seem to steal design ques from mobile games (These are always a hard pass),(reply>), indies are short crap,(reply>), They also start shoving in political agendas.,(reply>), @T’s Life so true. maximising profit and creating art never goes well together.