That is the kind of malicious thing being done, though. It sets the rhetoric that criticizing MTX is motivated by being a schmuck, you only would “genuinely” feel pressure if ypu were a schmuck.

But here’s the thing, virtually no game, even the most predatory, has an undeniable “win for money” option. Having things be hazy creates the plausible deniability required for someone to consider a purchase (people tend to only pay for pay2win stuff if nobody will ever know) and to create this discourse. No matter the game, the communities that play it will at a minimum have a sizable contingent who will insist their game is not pay2win. It is never P2W. They always make a distinction, pay for an edge, pay to save time, and always couch it such that if only the critic were a better gamer then it would not matter. See Star Citizem videoa of people in Auroras beating much better ships - “skill wins” is the message that obscures the clear mechanical advantages that are on sale that are just as usable by a skilles players, or would provide wider tactical options and responses as flex picks.

I’m not saying the MTX here is especially egregiois, but this discourse we are havimg even on an explicitly left wing forum is the intended effect, to blunt criticism for when they take this further, which they always do. The losa in save data control is a further escalation.