Free-to-play is just a ploy for future value extraction.

I typically go out of my way to avoid F2P games. I’d rather pay once for a game, rather than be stuck with a live service that constantly nags about subscriptions or microtransactions.

More importantly: don’t make games that rely on runaway success.

If your game is fun even if only a dozen people buy it, great! If it requires ten thousand global players right out the gate, and will cease to function once that number drops, you are fucked, by design.