--- title: Concerns and Critiques of Free-to-Play Games Aren’t All Snobbery description: Free-to-play has upsides and downsides, and we shouldn't allow a healthy, ongoing dialogue to be reduced to advocates versus snobs. canonical: https://time.com/57987/critiques-of-free-to-play-games-arent-all-snobbery/ author: Matt Peckham article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-04-10T18:30:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:01:56.381Z article:section: Business og:title: Concerns and Critiques of Free-to-Play Games Aren’t All Snobbery og:description: Free-to-play has upsides and downsides, and we shouldn't allow a healthy, ongoing dialogue to be reduced to advocates versus snobs. og:url: https://time.com/57987/critiques-of-free-to-play-games-arent-all-snobbery/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Concerns and Critiques of Free-to-Play Games Aren’t All Snobbery twitter:description: Free-to-play has upsides and downsides, and we shouldn't allow a healthy, ongoing dialogue to be reduced to advocates versus snobs. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Critiques of Free-to-Play Games Aren’t All Snobbery > Sponsored content. 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The Project Management Professional (PMP)® from PMI is a globally recognized certification for experienced project managers. For those newer to the field, PMI's Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® is a common starting point. Other notable certifications include those focused on agile methodologies, such as the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)®, and program management certifications like the Program Management Professional (PgMP)®. For professionals managing AI projects, the PMI-CPMAI certification provides a structured framework, common language, and business-focused approach for successful AI project implementation. #### How does PMI support career growth for professionals? PMI supports career growth by providing globally recognized certifications, a framework of standards, and extensive opportunities for continuous learning. Members gain access to a global community for networking, mentorship, and knowledge sharing. The organization also produces research and thought leadership on emerging trends, helping professionals stay current with skills in areas like AI, agile practices, and strategic business management. These resources are designed to help professionals at all levels enhance their skills and advance their careers. #### What is the PMBOK® Guide? The PMBOK® Guide, or A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, is PMI’s foundational guide to generally accepted project management knowledge and practice. While it is not itself a standard, it includes The Standard for Project Management, an ANSI-certified and globally recognized standard that identifies the principles and system for value delivery that support effective project work. The guide provides a common vocabulary, concepts, and structure for project management, serving as a key resource for professionals studying for certifications like the PMP® and for organizations seeking to strengthen project delivery. #### How is AI changing project management? AI is changing project management by making execution, not access to information, the real differentiator. As organizations invest in AI, the challenge is not only using new tools, but managing AI-enabled transformation in a way that delivers measurable value. Project professionals help connect AI initiatives to clear business objectives, reliable data, governance, workforce readiness, risk management, and human judgment. 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Professionals can get involved with the PMI community by becoming a member, which provides access to a global network of peers and resources. Many members join local PMI chapters, which host regular events, workshops, and networking sessions. Online, PMI's projectmanagement.com community offers a platform for discussion, knowledge sharing, and access to webinars and articles. Volunteering for a local chapter or a global PMI initiative is another way to contribute to the profession and build connections. #### What is the difference between PMP and CAPM? The PMP (Project Management Professional)® and CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management)® are both certifications offered by PMI, but they target professionals at different career stages. The CAPM is an entry-level certification designed for individuals with little or no project experience, validating their understanding of fundamental project management knowledge and terminology. The PMP is for experienced project managers and requires a combination of formal education and years of documented project leadership experience, making it a more advanced and globally recognized certification. #### How does PMI support social impact? PMI supports social impact by helping individuals, nonprofits, NGOs, and communities use project management to turn purpose into measurable outcomes. Through the PMI Educational Foundation, PMI expands access to project management education for youth worldwide, including underserved and underrepresented populations. Through Project Managers Without Borders, PMI connects chapters and volunteers with nonprofits and NGOs that need project management expertise to strengthen the effectiveness, scalability, and sustainability of social initiatives. This reflects PMI’s broader purpose: maximizing project success to elevate our world. ### Sources * Project Management Institute | [pmi.org](/c/pmi-2026-q3/home?i=2ff691d9-142e-41e1-a609-6ffc6071ead5&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, "Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey—Fourteenth Edition" | [pmi.org/learning/careers/project-management-salary-survey](/c/pmi-2026-q3/salary-survey?i=2ff691d9-142e-41e1-a609-6ffc6071ead5&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, "Global Project Management Talent Gap" | [pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/global-project-management-talent-gap](/c/pmi-2026-q3/talent-gap?i=2ff691d9-142e-41e1-a609-6ffc6071ead5&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, "Maximizing Project Success" | [pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/project-success](/c/pmi-2026-q3/project-success?i=2ff691d9-142e-41e1-a609-6ffc6071ead5&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, “Pulse Report 2025: Boosting Business Acumen” | [pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/boosting-business-acumen](/c/pmi-2026-q3/business-acumen?i=2ff691d9-142e-41e1-a609-6ffc6071ead5&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, “Pulse of the Profession® 2026: Driving Success in Complex Projects” | [pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/driving-success-in-complex-projects](/c/pmi-2026-q3/complex-projects?i=2ff691d9-142e-41e1-a609-6ffc6071ead5&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI, “Step Up: Redefining the Path to Project Success with M.O.R.E.” | [pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/path-to-project-success](/c/pmi-2026-q3/more-mindset?i=2ff691d9-142e-41e1-a609-6ffc6071ead5&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) * PMI Education Foundation, PMIEF 2024 Annual Report, [pmi.org PMIEF 2024 Annual Report (PDF)](/c/pmi-2026-q3/pmief-report?i=2ff691d9-142e-41e1-a609-6ffc6071ead5&cr=agentads-creative-pmi-v1) ### FAQ structured data (JSON-LD, optional) by [Matt Peckham](https://time.com/author/matt-peckham/) ## Matt Peckham Apr 10, 2014 6:30 PM UTC by [Matt Peckham](https://time.com/author/matt-peckham/) ## Matt Peckham Apr 10, 2014 6:30 PM UTC Let’s get one thing straight: snobbery is just another way of saying “I prefer this.” We’re all snobs about _something_ by definition. The very act of preferring one thing to another implies a belief, conscious or otherwise, that the thing you prefer is superior to the thing you don’t, however much you might try to wriggle out of those implications to avoid being stereotyped as a snob. Snobbery is just another part of being human. If you want to extend that definition of snobbery to include unwarranted disdain or condescension toward others who don’t hold with you on whatever position, fine, but I’m talking about the baseline definition of the word, plucked from the New Oxford American Dictionary. And I’m standing on that baseline definition only to make a point about former EA and Lionhead exec Ben Cousins’ [claim in an op-ed](http://www.polygon.com/2014/4/9/5597062/snobbery-and-fear-drive-ethical-criticisms-of-free-to-play-games) carried by Polygon that “snobbery” drives critiques of free-to-play games. I have no fundamental beef with free-to-play games. I’ve spent my fair share on them (I’m looking at you, _Temple Run 2_), and I’ve played plenty where the mechanic doesn’t feel intrusive or gimmicky, where the game experience benefits from having certain salable levers you can optionally pull in lieu of not having them. I’d argue freemium games with aptly balanced and carefully integrated micro-transactions have their place, that place being where the parabolic curve and sense of iterative in-game accomplishment dovetails with in-game insuperability — and you’re able to surf that curve either way — for whatever intended demographic. But I’m also as skeptical as anyone else of the effect and influence of commercial requirements on aesthetic choices in artistic mediums like literature, film, visual art, music and, more recently, gaming. I’m talking about the ways in which commercial demands shape or dictate the form a video game takes, and the follow-on assumption often made by the moneymakers that opened wallets equal thumbs up to design choices, and that popularity alone is all the justification art needs. We’re making enormous culturally-driven assumptions when we argue any of that stuff _has_ to be monetized to be sustainable or even worth doing in the first place, of course. Not everyone makes the same assumptions, and I’d like to think there’s room for a dialogue about this that doesn’t involve disdain or condescension toward artists who’d dare make art for art’s sake. At the same time, I understand the allure of bandwagons and the tendency for commercial interests to swarm those bandwagons like sharks scenting blood. Free-to-play has been good to game-makers and players alike. On the casual side of the industry, it offers higher rates of return at lower entry thresholds, certainly when compared to the sort of Hollywood-caliber stakes involved in developing triple-A (or as Amazon’s VP of games [put it the other day](http://time.com/55568/amazon-fire-tv-interview-mike-frazzini/), quadruple-A) games like the _Call of Duty_s or _Grand Theft Auto_s of the world. You can make a decent living off a successful free-to-play game without assembling battalions of developers and racking up tens of millions of dollars in art asset creation expenditures, and that more people are able to make games and sustain careers…all the poorly made stuff aside, I’m trying to see how lowering the idea-to-execution-to-sustainability threshold is a bad thing. And looking at it from the player’s vantage, swinging back to Cousins’ piece, he makes some important and valid points about free-to-play’s overlooked perks: free-to-play games may on occasion take the form of bait-and-switch, but they can also be “played extensively before you even make a purchase.” There’s an “implementation efficacy” test here — plenty of free-to-play games get this wrong — but I’ve found this to be true as often as not. Furthermore, Cousins is correct that traditional games, with their radically higher investment stakes, are often far worse about bait-and-switch in terms of promising things they don’t deliver, because then that’s marketing and rate-of-return 101, ergo caveat emptor. I can also see where “whales” — players who spend unusual sums on game additives — might well be simply cautious, methodical enthusiasts, as opposed to easily duped irrationalists. Spending more money on things you like than someone else isn’t inherently irrational behavior. Assuming the buyer’s not harming anyone, who are we to judge? But I’m less persuaded by Cousins’ argument, assuming it’s statistically correct (and it may not be), that there isn’t a predatory risk in free-to-play models when it involves consumers who might not possess the faculties (and economic experience, and psychological independence, and financial obligations) necessary to make responsible purchasing decisions — namely children. The hypothetical issue of children getting snookered into spending money on freemium content may not be widespread, as Cousins argues, and even if it were, I’m not sure I’d be in favor of introducing regulation (free-to-play games are hardly cigarettes, and much, if not most, of ensuring children aren’t racking up free-to-play tabs comes down to parental involvement). But we need to be able to have a conversation about how the most vulnerable among us might be more susceptible to making uninformed or impulsive purchases in free-to-play applications without slippery-sloping into bipolar “for or against free-to-play” bulwarking. We should, for instance, at minimum be watchful of what developers and publishers are up to when building games expressly for children, as well as lobbying for evolving strictures on our computing devices to help us better self-regulate how we or our children interface with free-to-play content. Someone trying to sell you something has the most incentive to simply sell you that something, and the least incentive to consider anything else. Where that involves kids and spending money, we ought to at least tread lightly. Last up, I want to take a swing at what I view as Cousins’ weakest argument in the piece: In closing, he compares free-to-play to “the telephone, the jukebox, rock ‘n’ roll and many other examples,” adding “we fear what we don’t recognize, and in this case it’s the industry not recognizing where it’s heading.” It’s as snobbish a claim as any I’ve seen: as if free-to-play were this inexorable, vanguard force, and anyone who disagrees hates The Beatles, technology and general progress. Maybe that’s true of free-to-play and maybe it’s not, but it’s just as true that industries head in all sorts of directions, not all of them healthy, and momentum alone isn’t a rationale. You can recognize where something’s going or trending and have concerns for reasons that have nothing to do with cultural shortsightedness or stubbornness. Not every industrial force or outcome is for the best — slavery was once considered an economic godsend, to reference one of the most nefarious — and not every skeptic’s just a blinkered, elitist, fearmongering fool. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/57987/critiques-of-free-to-play-games-arent-all-snobbery/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/57987/critiques-of-free-to-play-games-arent-all-snobbery/"},"headline":"Critiques of Free-to-Play Games Aren’t All Snobbery","datePublished":"2014-04-10T18:30:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:01:56.381Z","description":"Free-to-play has upsides and downsides, and we shouldn't allow a healthy, ongoing dialogue to be reduced to advocates versus snobs.","url":"https://time.com/57987/critiques-of-free-to-play-games-arent-all-snobbery/","keywords":["Tech","Video Games","Opinion topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Matt Peckham","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/matt-peckham/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/57987/critiques-of-free-to-play-games-arent-all-snobbery/","name":"Critiques of Free-to-Play Games Aren’t All Snobbery"}}]}] ```