The patient gamer strategy in action. Wait long enough and that $60 dumpster fire becomes a $15 polished experience with all the DLC, actual working features, and a community that's already figured out which mods make the game playable. Meanwhile, day-one buyers paid full price to be unpaid QA testers. The real winners here are the ones who treat launch dates like early access betas and swoop in years later when the devs have finally delivered what they promised in the trailer. Plus, by then you know if the game's actually worth your time or if it's another overhyped mess. Delayed gratification has never felt so smug.