There have always been huge multimillion dollar companies that dwarf smaller local companies. The gaming industry is no different. Large American money grabbing companies like Activision and EA tower over small European companies.

For example, Ukrainian developer 4A Games was bought by German developer Deep Silver after 4A’s American publisher, THQ, went bankrupt in late last year. That’s just the beginning. 4A Games employees underwent horrible conditions to bring us what is now a terrific game, Metro:Last Light. The employees braved the harsh Ukrainian winter during blackouts in their office and faced unreasonable budget demands. Development kits and high-end PC’s had to be smuggled into Ukraine in backpacks to avoid corrupt customs officials.

“If you care about the art of making games then you have to care about more than the final product,” former THQ president Jason Ruben later stated in PC Gamer Magazine. “The struggle and the journey becomes part of the story. Like sport, you cheer when the underdog comes from behind, and triumphs in the face of incredible odds.”

Like always, smaller companies struggle to survive in the wake of huge global powerhouses. EA is notorious for making everything they sell 20 times as expensive as any other game. The more money you spend on kits in Battlefield 4, the better it makes you in the game. Not only is it unfair and selfish on the part of the developers, but stupid on the gamers for buying into EA’s constant sub par content. Indie developers struggle to get their life’s work up and running while big companies sell us a cut and paste sequel every year for a $60 price tag plus extra downloadable content. It’s ridiculous, and frankly, I think it’s slowly ruining the diversity of the gaming industry.

Unfortunately, there is nothing the gaming community can do about it, except maybe hope that the industry doesn’t become filled to the brim with Call of Duty knock offs and overpriced DLC packs.