RANT INCOMING!!!
One could argue that the DLC system for delivering additional content is the "revolution" of expansion packs. In the age where having internet is like having running water, delivering updates and bugfixes puts less strain on the developers to make that "perfect build of the game" and release it - expansion packs shrinked in size because of that, eventually excluding anything but additional content.
Eventually, developers figured out that the additional content can be released in small chunks over time to keep the player playing and the payers paying; the F2P model is the perfect example for that. Not only have developers become greedy over time, but also very lazy - over time, it was about getting your game played as soon as possible and by as much people as possible, instead of pursuing quality of the game you're developing.
I was finally convinced that the F2P as well as the "early access" model need to die and burn in hell for all eternity when I played some very heavy "pay us to get better" or "you can only RENT this" F2P games, and one particular example of an early access game: The Forest.
Just how despicable a developer needs to get in order to compete with high profile developer studios with big publishers? Build an alpha of a new game that's barely playable, charge $30 for it instead of $60, and call it "early access", "exclusive chance to get involved with the development and" blah blah blah...
You gotta be f*****g kidding me! The PC community has become nothing but volunteer beta testers for lazy and greedy developers who don't want to spend the time to just deliver a good game and make gamers excited - instead they rely on dirty tricks and petty marketing campaigns, all for the purpose of reducing the amount of pirated copies floating around.
I'm gonna keep this short (as if I did so already, lol) and just mention one good example, a golden one at that, that is the exception: The Witcher franchise. Those games were amazing, and hard copies included so many perks and pleasantries, it was hard NOT to buy them. Sure, piracy is always there and there will always be people who can't afford it (or don't want to) - but Projekt Red had the traditional mindset of releasing games and now the Witcher franchise is probably one of THE BEST modern RPG franchises from someone who's not EA...
And now I gotta go to work or I'll be late lol