Last Week, former Blizzard executive Mike Ybarra posted a tweet that is making waves. He floated an idea of tipping games that have left him awestruck, on top of the original asking price. Ybarra even acknowledges that his tweet might not be well received, later even editing his tweet to add a small note explaining his point further.
Ybarra had been with Blizzard since 2017 before being part of the layoffs that struck the company earlier this year. Joining right after the massive success of the original Overwatch game, the time that Ybarra was with the company was defined by continuing existing IPs with the releases of Diablo Immortal, Overwatch 2, Diablo IV, and Warcraft Rumble. All of which did not appear in his list of games that were deserving of tips. This list, though not exhaustive, listed Horizon Zero Dawn, Red Dead Redemption 2, Eldin Ring, God of War, and Baldur’s Gate 3 as its examples of tip worthy games.
Many were quick to critique Ybarra’s comments, with good reason. Ybarra seemed to have been arguing against the use of microtransactions in video games that “try to nickel and dime [players] every second,” but his response was not well received by most others. It probably didn’t help that Ybarra was previously associated with Blizzard Entertainment who’s massive layoff this year has been quite the topic of discussion in the gaming community. Blizzard’s recent return to China has been equally noteworthy following the changes. Either way, Ybarra’s comments seemed to garner a response from people that boiled down to: why should I tip the companies when I don’t know that money will reach designers.
While Ybarra’s comments might not be well received, they might start a larger conversation. Games are expensive to make, but the designers of those games deserve to make a wage that reflects the time and work they put in. Should the asking price for games be raised to eliminate microtransactions, or is there another solution? Only time will tell.