Over a decade ago I played counterstrike. Each match we won or lost; no xp, no reward. I think we need to ask ourselves why we play a game.

I guess I'm sad that things have changed and games have to drip feed pieces of candy to maintain a happy playerbase these days. I played hundreds maybe thousands of hours of cs 1.6 and had nothing more than a day 1 player, except knowledge and skill. The reward was a kill, a win, holding a site when rushed.

I suppose I'm also a bit of a sucker for this since I get caught up in it, I get that buzz, when a purple or gold laser fires from one of the spinning triangles. What's mad is literally everything that could drop doesn't really bother me that much. When I step back I'm playing because I enjoy the game, not because my pathfinder is now more pink or my r301 shiny.

I think we might forget the way it used to be and our addiction to shiny rewards tarnishes our true enjoyment of a well made game. So take a moment when you see a lackluster battlepass or no packs after level 100 and ask how much you really care about what is in them and why you are playing in the the first place.

Edit: Thank you for the silver/gold/platinum. This post has obviously caused some controversy. I feel I want to say that I'm not here rampaging against lootboxes and cosmetics.
I do however think people should ask are they playing because they enjoy the game or because they are caught in an addictive loop of rewards. Those who think that is rare only need see the number of people saying they stopped playing at level 100 etc to see this isn't that unusual.
Also each to their own, if lootboxes are why you play things that fine, but I'd argue Apex probably isn't for you.
I guess my concern is if people think new cosmetics, lootboxes etc will keep things fresh and keep the playerbase up and I believe if we take a step back, their superficial nature will only achieve superficial results.
Sorry it seems I'm not so great at keeping things succinct.