Mike Ybarra, who previously headed Blizzard, wrote on Twitter that sometimes he feels like paying a little more money for a game as a token of gratitude to its developers.
He suggests that when purchasing a game, an additional option should appear that allows adding $10-20 to the base price as a tip directly to the developers.
"At the end of the game, I often think about what a wonderful experience I had. And I want to give these people another $10-20 because this experience was worth more than the initial $70. And nobody tried to demand every cent from me every second," Ybarra writes.
According to the former Blizzard executive, such feelings are triggered by games like HZD, GoW, RDR2, BG3, Elden Ring, and similar ones.
"I know that $70 is too much for some, but an option like tipping at the end of the game is something I would like to see. Some games are just special."
Ybarra understands that many may not like his idea, as everyone is "tired" of tips in other industries. In fact, the responses to his proposal in the comments were mixed: some say they already spend too much on video games; others add that some platforms (like itch.io) already offer tips, and small indie developers often use established platforms for donations. They also write that any additional income will "inevitably end up in the pockets of publishers," not with the developers themselves.
Others generally supported the idea, especially given the recent difficulties in the industry - layoffs of thousands of workers and studio closures (in 2023 alone, games "lost" over 6100 jobs).
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