It’s repellent when game publishers target players prone to spending thousands of dollars a year in a single video game, and then try to squeeze them for as much money as possible. This is the behavior that led me to leave mobile free-to-play, no matter the personal cost.

From an emotional perspective, whaling is unpopular with many game developers. These developers are playing and loving The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Baldur’s Gate III on their free time. They know that if this is what a $70 purchase looks like, there is no universe in which their mobile games can offer $10K+ in value to anyone. They know they are price gouging. Doing that feels awful.

Free-to-play has rewritten what success looks like in the games industry. You can only have the ethics you can afford, and most people are terrified of biting the hand that feeds them. So, you don’t hear many complaints about whaling, gross as it is.

How do publishers steer clear of preying on players struggling from gambling addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder? They don’t. I’ve heard a Product Manager once say, “They’re broken people, and they’re spending that money either way, so we may as well take it.” It is sad, soul crushing stuff.

It’s ok to say out loud that this model is foul. It’s ok to refuse to participate, personally and professionally. In fact, it’s important.

Seven years ago, I made a personal commitment never to whale again in my professional life. No more monetary dark patterns, ever. It was along the most important and impactful decisions I’ve made in my life. I’m not saying everyone can do this… but if you can, I can say first hand that breaking away is worth it.

Let’s all do what we can to move past whaling, and make it nothing more than an ugly memory.