(Warning: the following article contains profane language. Reader’s discretion advised)

I love huge RPGs, they are arguably my favorite game genre, especially open world RPGs. Fallout 4 and Skyrim are among my favorite games. Hogwarts Legacy from earlier this year is a GOTY contender and I am presently working through Starfield and finishing up Baldur’s Gate 3 (yes, both will receive a review upon completion). But occasionally I want to boot up a game that is action packed and competitive. I am talking about an FPS, in particular a multiplayer shooter. In my youth, the games that ate up my evenings after finishing homework were Star Wars Battlefront 2 (the original one!) and Call of Duty Black Ops, both of which are in my top ten games of all time. What I like about playing a multiplayer shooter is that it satisfies my itch to be competitive. Nothing is better than dropping 30 kills in a game of TDM or maybe delivering a teabag on the player that has been taunting you all game. Multiplayer games are also dynamic by nature; matches aren’t always the same due to the nature of different strategies and skills of other players. They are a fun way to break up the intensity of constant immersion in RPGs, or at least that is how I look at it. However lately I’ve come into a problem that I also see is an industry wide problem; multiplayer shooters have had a massive quality drop.

Let’s look at the current multiplayer shooters that are on the market. Valorant is at the top of its game with its strong competitive scene and high player base, but is dragged down by expensive microtransactions and a toxic player base. Counter Strike Global Offensive is also still a strong title, however Valorant and other titles have drained away its player base and it still has dated graphics and gameplay. Hopefully the upcoming sequel will reignite this series. In the battle royale sub-genre we have its three main titles, Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Warzone, all of which have their own problems. Fortnite has improved itself by getting rid of its building mechanics that appeals to a wider player base, however the amount of microtransactions for crossover skins make the game an environment for children, which isn’t exactly inviting to an adult gamer. Apex Legends, to my knowledge, has had a series of bad patches and character releases that have put the balance of the game into question. Warzone, being tied to the Call of Duty franchise, needs the purchase of the game and is riddled with hackers. PUBG though a fun esport to watch is the most complicated control scheme I’ve seen in an FPS, not to mention that like CS:GO, other more popular battle royales have taken away its player base, leaving only a small core of veteran players, rendering it a hard game to get into. Plus, I’m not a fan of battle royales as a genre. That leaves the AAA FPS titles; Halo, Overwatch, Call of Duty and Battlefield and let’s just say all of them have gone to shit. Halo has been on a decline since Bungie has left the series. Halo Infinite has been dragged down by a lack of content, terrible UI that took months to fix and of course, microtransactions. Overwatch 2 has been a total loss for Blizzard, the collapse of its player base due to unkept promises for the needed PvE, the move to 5v5 upsetting the balance and again fucking microtransactions. Battlefield 2042 had the worst release in the franchise’s history with a broken release state, lack of content, and nearly no guns for a shooter. This leaves, weirdly, Call of Duty at the top of the food chain for the first time in years, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. A formula that hasn’t improved or changed in years and is asking $70 dollars? Yeah, no I’ll pass. If I want to play Modern Warfare, I’ll play the originals.

So why am I writing this? To complain of course! Next to sports games, multiplayer FPS have to be the biggest victim of modern gaming. FPS’s have high replay ability and dedicated gamers log in everyday to their game of choice. The high playerbases for these games give companies essentially a trapped audience to bait and attract to buy microtransactions. The Autoworkers and Writer’s Strikes, both of whom are caused by corporate greed by their associated industries, can be applied to the gaming industry. The insane number of profits made from microtransactions go straight to the pockets of executives and producers. Large profit margins to please corporate investors. Got to love fucking capitalism. And what was the cost of these large profits? The quality of the product of course. Poor server maintenance, unbalanced gameplay, blocky graphics, and copycat gameplay. Much of the industry has lost its passion and drive, selling out for the corporate machine. Sure, the small developer fresh on the hire is still dedicated to making a good product, but one person can only do so much against a corporation.

The failings of the industry, toxic player bases and outdated games all show that the FPS is in trouble. We can’t turn to the big industries for help, not until there is drastic leadership changes, which let’s admit, will never happen. This opens the door for small developers to fill the gap. I have recently picked up a game called Enlisted, developed by a small team called Darkflow Software. Earlier in the year I played a game called Caliber, made by an eastern European developer 1C Game Studios. Both games are fun yet limited in scale. Caliber though creative and fun with the third person view, the movement is slow and gunplay jagged. Enlisted is graphically challenged and that is putting it nicely. These small games are only able to hold my attention for a limited time. This is due to the lack of content and progress being rather limited. Caliber had just released in North America after a brief early access period and Enlisted is still in early access. Both games also had numerous unlocks behind pay walls that could be overcome with large amount of playtime. This is normally shamed upon, but because these games were by small teams and free to play, I gave them a pass. The lack of a steady game has forced me to play other shooters and multiplayer games. Dead by Daylight has become the group’s go-to hang out game because one it is fun, two it features horror character which we all love and three the game fucking works. Though it does have microtransaction and paid DLC for new characters, which is a bit annoying. DBD constantly comes out with free content, like maps and events. Deep Rock Galactic and Left 4 Dead are shooters but are co-op PVE experiences that are a load of fun with the boys, with Deep Rock offering tons of free content that the player can access by simply playing and exploring. But these games have a different feel then what I truly desire from a multiplayer shooter.

So, what is the solution? Sadly, the only real way to hope to force change in the gaming industry is to vote with our wallets. It is a slow process, and it is fucking frustrating. Also why hasn’t game industry media picked up on this glaring hole in our day-to-day gaming lineup? In a word it’s complacency. The trends of modern gaming have been going on for so long that the overall trends of the industry are now viewed as the new norm. Stories on big failures and collapses of games, like Overwatch and Battlefield do make the news waves, but the trends do not. Developers make their money off pre-orders, day one purchases and bundles before the community realizes how fucked the game is. The cycle of a major project is essentially the following: announcement of new title, promises of new features while keeping to the old ways, trailers that are either cinematic or show next to nothing, closed betas that don’t work but companies saying that it is only the beta, then on release day the final product is shat out with either terrible net code or bad design. And repeat. The hype train effect is a real problem. I should know because I fell for it time and time again because I can’t help but wish for a fun game to play. Even after the total derailment of the hype train and most players having left, die hard players and gaming whales, gamers who spend an equivalent of a fucking mortgage on skins and microtransactions, continue to feed the corporate machine and show companies that this works. The bottom line is this, developers and publishers care only for the money, if they need to take a hit in the PR to make bank, they will do that. It is because of this that gamers just mindless wander back and forth between games and have just accepted that this is how multiplayer games are now.

Is there hope on the horizon? Yes? Maybe. As mentioned earlier, a sequel to Counter Strike Global Offensive is near. The competitive scene for CS:GO is preparing for it as in December the last tournament on the old game will be hosted. This means it will most likely be a quarter one release in 2024. Now will it be good? I hope so, but the main question will be will it be free to play or have a price tag. This is huge because it will determine if their will be microtransactions or not. Oh, who am I fucking kidding there will be microtransactions no matter what. The other major title is XDefiant, which is a Call of Duty like arena shooter from Ubisoft. This will most likely not be good because Ubisoft can’t make good games. It was supposed to be released in the summer, but its fall now and no game. XDefiant has been announced to be free to play, so I will try it, play it for a week, and then more likely than not drop it because Ubisoft can’t make good games. But other than those two titles, to my knowledge, there aren’t any other PVP shooter to save us.