The Gaming Industry: A Reflection of the New American Dream

By Anthony Amos

Video games. Once considered a blight on early childhood in many political spheres, it stands today as a key indicator on the state of the economy and the looming recession. According to the Entertainment Software Association, roughly 60 percent of Americans play video games and it contributes to over $66 billion in gross domestic product for the U.S. – exceeding the rest of the entertainment industry by a wide margin. Many of my greatest memories came from playing co-op with my friends on Halo and with my dad on fighting games. The interpersonal nature of games became more important for people globally during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing for engagement in a world where we could close the physical gap on our headsets. However, it is not all sunshine and rainbows. In this industry, the growth of anticonsumerist practices and the lack of effective oversight mirrors what we are seeing across the economy today… and it started over a decade earlier.

Drivers on the Cost of Living

Whether you are a fan of consoles like the PlayStation and Xbox or decided to build your own personal computer (PC), you have noticed skyrocketing price increases and stock shortages for parts and devices in recent years. A running gag in my family for three years was my inability to find a PlayStation 5 that I could purchase at fair market value. This was primarily driven by a worldwide semiconductor chip shortage, which affected timelines and costs for electronics in general. One would think that this is behind us after a surge in product in 2023; however, think again. Multiple news outlets are reporting RAM (random access memory) shortages in 2026, which is responsible for your computer’s ability to process multiple pieces of information simultaneously like opening multiple tabs at one time. The current generation of consoles are expected to see additional price jumps and the next generation to be delayed from their original 2027-2028 release window since the RAM shortage is expected to last well beyond 2026. Sales for these devices hit a 30-year low in November of last year, consistent with the overall drop in consumer spending from years past. The state of things are worse for those using PCs. Consumer prices for new GPUs (graphics processing units) started at $1,999 in January of 2025 and may potentially reach over $5,000 by the end of 2026 – marking a 150 percent increase with no signs of slowing down. If you are not a consistent gamer, you may be wondering what the big deal is. Why should I care? These trends are signals for what to expect with all of our devices. Phones, laptops, and all modern devices will be impacted by the same driver: the tech industry’s investment on artificial intelligence (AI) through data centers.

The changing economic landscape is being driven by a singular promise: an AI evolution to benefit everyone. Billions of dollars from AI investors has driven the need for more capacity and networking infrastructure, with AI being a data-intensive tool that requires far more processing capabilities than what currently exists. Chipmakers are redirecting their production to meet this demand, reducing the amount of available chips for consumer products. This is evidenced by the recent announcements from international companies that dominate memory production like Micron Technology, one of the world’s largest chip manufacturers, stating that they are leaving the commercial market to focus on their “larger, strategic customers in faster-growing segments.” The same can be seen with electricity. The need for additional data centers with stronger capacities are constraining the RAM market with this supply diversion; meanwhile, according to a study from the University of Michigan, the electricity demand surges are being subsidized by local residents due to “utility companies passing the costs of infrastructure upgrades and energy procurement onto residents and small businesses through higher rates.” With a growing rent-burdened population and wealth gap, affordability becomes more difficult for most of the population due to the dreams of Big Tech.

Many of these dreams are centered around control of particular industries, such as recent efforts by OpenAI and Microsoft to consolidate AI research and development under their companies through strategic partnerships and acquisitions. Merger and acquisition transactions (M&As) have doubled over the last decade, primarily by non-AI companies acquiring AI upstarts. Large technology companies have gone on aggressive sprees of acquisitions to dominate the AI market – with entities like Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta ranking as the top acquirers for several years. The video game industry has also been defined by M&As and their impacts on the technology landscape. In 2008, two major gaming studios, Activision and Blizzard, merged – and now Activision Blizzard is set to be acquired by Microsoft as of 2023 – potentially leading to many of their games and products becoming exclusive to Microsoft-based devices. Similar to the healthcare market and most industries, market consolidation leads to price increases and is impacted by the lack of antitrust legislation to promote more stringent enforcement. The M&As of the past and those ongoing centralized corporate power – disrupting supply chains, minimizing competition for fair market pricing, and stripping away workers’ rights according to the Roosevelt Institute. Activision Blizzard has received numerous complaints for violating labor laws and using intimidation tactics against employees, including a recent filing for an unfair labor practice charge from the Communications Workers of America. In the pursuit of more capital, we see the growth of anti-worker and anti-consumerist trends as industries cannibalize the competition, especially with Big Tech and what that implies for the future. 

The New American Dream

In 2024, the executive of a major gaming company, Ubisoft, caused a controversy when he openly stated that “it’s about feeling comfortable with not owning your game”, endorsing a game pass subscription model where physical ownership is becoming more of an outdated preference. Ownership is no longer permanent in the minds of many business leaders – contrary to what many of us were taught growing up and what the generations prior to ours experienced firsthand. He believes this model works despite the multiple failed products Ubisoft has pushed out and the multiple rounds of layoffs they have undergone, resulting in the loss of hundreds of jobs and concerns surrounding workplace unionization playing a role in its decisions. This compounds with poor AI implementation and the aforementioned anticonsumerist practices, reducing competition and product quality.

While inflation is a key driver, the cost of development for games has skyrocketed. Many publishers have taken different approaches to recapture those profits through different approaches like increasing the cost of games from the once-traditional $60 to $70. Many games are now implementing AI features to reduce these costs in theory, yet their demanding investments for upkeep coupled with supply shortages are likely contributing to the rising costs we are seeing. Despite Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard and the growth in the gaming market – similar to that of streaming services – they increased their monthly subscription prices for the Xbox Game Pass multiple times within a 14-month period, with the latest jump being around 50 percent. Another controversial method was the implementation of microtransactions, casino-like mechanics for gamers to spend real-world currency for virtual goods in a game. Despite being around in gaming culture since the mid-2000s, microtransactions became so prevalent and manipulative that United States Senator Josh Hawley introduced a bill to regulate these sales and to discontinue their flagrant marketing strategies towards users under the age of 18. The shift into a more subscription-based gaming format began well before the explosion of streaming services like Disney+ and the shortcomings are well documented. Frustrations seen with these cases mirror the ongoing discussions with social media and advertising – often intentionally aggressive and targeted at younger audiences. What we are seeing now, and what is likely to become more relevant with streaming and the transition away from physical media, is a shift in the idea of ownership. Multiple games that were published and were either unsuccessful or difficult to maintain for a long period of time are shut down or made inaccessible by those who purchased them at full price. Many argue that this is anticonsumer in nature and “is effectively robbing customers of their purchases and makes restoration impossible.” Recent pro-consumer movements like “Stop Killing Games” dedicate themselves to conduct outreach with international leaders to protect fundamental rights surrounding possessions and fair compensation, even reaching the European Union via petitions to add this item to the Digital Fairness Act. One might wonder how the idea of purchasing a good and having it rescinded without compensation is legal or valid, yet it is. It sounds an alarm of what is to come beyond the gaming industry and serves to set a precedent for redefining the role of the consumer. The dissolution of ownership marks a new standard for the experiment of neoliberal capitalism. 

The role of the customer has shifted in our current economic system. Rather than serving as the driving force and trendsetter behind economic growth and collapse, a new idea encroached on the market – the subsidizing consumer. The foundation of the American Dream, which was once based on ownership, shifted to support an expanding wealth gap where quality of life is issued via monthly payments. A subscription society, if you will. Every commodity, leisure, necessity becomes more and more decentralized to hide the true cost of living behind layers of paywalls. According to a survey conducted by CNET, the average U.S. adult spends $1,080 annually on subscriptions, with around $200 being on unused subscriptions. Every few months, often driven by an unregulated merger or spikes in investment spending, the routine payment increases and appears to be minimal until you examine them in context. In that same survey, over two-thirds of respondents noted that one or more of their subscription services increased their prices within the past year. Efforts to promote transparency and to make it easier to unsubscribe have been blocked, limiting the abilities of entities like the Federal Trade Commission to exercise its powers to protect consumers. 

The New American Dream is now defined by a rent-based economy and conditional leisure. Ownership is an outdated model – a myth driven by a lack of acceptance for these new norms. Our lives are determined in increments and what we enjoy – be it video games, movies, sports, books, news and information, food, hygiene – is being increasingly digitized and hidden behind locked doors. Keys, like loot boxes, that are pay-to-play. Perhaps we will look back one day on this phase of life as a successful transition toward a brighter future with AI infrastructure and improved accessibility. Perhaps their experiments and investments will work in staving off a recession. Perhaps this piece is laced with worries and assumptions that will fade away over time. Or…perhaps we have seen this story before and the cycle simply continues on. As a gamer, I am sure I will know soon enough.