So, why would a video game "simply stop running" if it had no microtransactions (add-on purchases)?

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Tekken series boss Katsuhiro Harada says rising development costs have necessitated the inclusion of microtransactions in the series' latest outing

The comment comes from Harada, who was responding to a social media user lamenting the inclusion of items such as paid costumes in the fighter.

"If we simply do nothing as he suggests, the game will simply stop running in a few months…He wants us to stop economic activity and stop updating and supporting the game."

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> Tekken boss says microtransactions are prevalent because dev costs are larger

In fact I think games are much cheaper to make than they used to be. The number of great games made by a single person or a small team would have been almost impossible to do a few decades ago. Now if you want top of the line graphics and the rest of the fluff AAA games insist on, then he's right.

> In fact I think games are much cheaper to make than they used to be.

I think the cheap ones aren't. 40 yrs ago you could do it for just the cost of a computer and your time.

> The number of great games made by a single person or a small team would have been almost impossible to do a few decades ago

But before that, it was the norm.

I agree the expensive ones certainly are more expensive.

It applies to 'high-budget'-looking games too, not just 'indie-looking' games. Because engines are more available, with more training available, etc.

Mordhau (unreal engine 4) is insanely ambitious and well-crafted for a 10-person dev team (according to their site).