Online Arenas: Where My Wallet Weeps but Humanity Thrives
If my wife ever finds out how much money I’ve spent on Call of Duty skins, she‘ll be as annoyed as I was when I found out how much my son had spent on Fortnite skins. Oof.
That said, there is more happening here than wallet-draining and family tsuris enhancement. The global generation that will inherit the earth is connecting cross-planet and collaborating via games as a service.
This was on display in Seoul, Korea, this past weekend at the finals of VALORANT Champions. In a world that gets more fractured and nichey by the day, it’s awesome to see massive communities of young people coming together to celebrate something they love.
Games like VALORANT are a digital “third place” where borders, cultures, and backgrounds evaporate. Games where millions of people connect, grow, and break down barriers.
In a world that often feels dedicated to fostering division, free-to-play games like VALORANT matter.
Personal Development: When players ready up, they begin a hero’s journey from rookie to ranked. The challenges of in-game systems and mechanics become engines of confidence and self-esteem.
Building Resilience: Matches aren’t just about winning; they’re about learning to confront obstacles. Leveling up isn’t just about learning maps and mastering tactics but navigating trash-talk and repeated failure. This fosters fortitude and develops skills that matter in-game and meat space.
A Safe Haven: Free-to-play games are more than a digital playground for many young players. They become a sanctuary for those who feel isolated or misunderstood in their everyday lives. An escape from the leash of legacy and structure of institutions that aren’t in sync with their identity.
Diversity and Unity: Riot, in particular, does a fantastic job defining VALORANT as a game that celebrates differences, where people from every strata and spectrum can find strength, friendship, and purpose. Despite what you read on the OpEd page, Gen-Z and Gen Alpha understand the value of teamwork.
Global Collaboration: Games with a free-to-play model rarely require the latest tech, offering access via various last-gen platforms. As long as they can get online, players from every hemisphere and economic class overcome challenges together, strategizing and supporting each other to succeed.
Sure, gaming is one of the last insanely lucrative entertainment arenas. I have the cash-drain stats on my Quicken to prove it. But its value is more than economic.
Games like VALORANT, LEAGUE, COD, FORTNITE, HELLDIVERS 2, and mobile PUBG deserve kudos for creating shared experiences that connect a planet in peril, training a generation of global citizens to work together, not just for democracy or a chicken dinner — but to forge a better future.
“If you want to make a society work, then you don’t keep underscoring the places where you’re different — you underscore your shared humanity,” she told me. “I’m appalled by how much people focus on differences. Why are you focusing on how different you are from one another and not on the things that unite us?”
Sebastian Junger, Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging
