[rng_civ]

If the game's endgame monetization issues are as bad as I've heard, then this is a classic example of luring players in and then suddenly smacking them with a paywall.

Not to bash you in particular, but it always amazes me that people can judge a game's pacing and monetization without including the endgame (if it even had a start or middle in the first place; endgame can be a nebulous concept). As the game ages, that is what the majority of players will be doing for the majority of the time and that's where the game will reveal it's true colors.

In my most recent memory, this happened with New World and its lack of endgame content at release. People defended the game as fun then most apparently quit in the levels 20-30 range because they realized the game was nothing but the same anemic game loop.

Now it's down from 900k peak players to 22k peak players, which may be a nice number for some games, but it is already deader than some older MMOs with no signs of player growth (according to Steam Charts).