Or, you know, companies could pay their employees better...
Former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra is making headlines after taking to Twitter to suggest that players should be able to tip developers for good work.
On the social media platform, Ybarra cited titles like God of War, Elden Ring, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Baldur’s Gate 3, suggesting that players should have an easy way to tip developers $10 or $20 USD as a show of gratitude for what they’d played.
“When I beat a game, there are some that just leave me in awe of how amazing the experience was,” wrote Ybarra. “At the end of the game, I’ve often thought ‘I wish I could give these folks another $10 or $20 because it was worth more than my initial $70 and they didn’t try to nickel and dime me for every second.'”
“I know $70 is already a lot,” Ybarra concluded, “But it’s just an option at the end of the game I wish I had at times. Some games are that special.”
Perhaps needless to say, Ybarra’s comments have not gone over well. Most simply chalk this up to the tipping culture of the United States, criticising the need to tip to help to bolster the pockets of employees who likely aren’t being paid enough to justify their work. Others have simply claimed Ybarra — and his former executive salary — are out of touch, especially considering most players engage with video games as a hobby.
Others still criticised Ybarra’s suggested method, saying that any tips received in the manner he suggested would simply end up in the pockets of large corporations, many of whom have made headlines of late for layoffs sweeping through the industry. In the last few months, layoffs have been reported at developers and publishers including Riot Games, Thunderful, Embracer and Gearbox, Twitch (again), Unity, Codemasters, 505 Games’ Digital Bros, Amazon, Bungie, Media Molecule, Ubisoft, Aussie studio League of Geeks, Versus Evil, and many more.
“I’ve seen the salary range for Blizzard devs in comparison with other studios; it’s insulting. Business decisions that affected game development lay at the feet of people like Ybarra. CEO’s aren’t gonna take paycuts like Nintendo unless there are laws in place that make them,” wrote Twitter user @axl99.
“CEOs talking about tipping employees instead of giving livable wages, proper crediting and royalties is the ‘trickle down economics’ speech but for people who play videogames,” they concluded.
“There’s no reason to tip,” added @kiltmoney. “‘Tipping culture’ is exclusively a North American thing. I’ve supported indie [KickStarter] projects because I want support their turn-based RPG games. CEOs don’t need another yacht, especially after the massive layoffs the past year.”
Where do you stand when it comes to Ybarra’s suggestion? Sound off in the comments area, below, with your thoughts.
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