Makes sense. The gigantic AAA games are so expensive to produce that they need all this ridiculous monetization for the returns to be worthwhile. That kind of spending (at least the kind that big publishers tend to dump on these games) lends itself to all the lucrative bullshit, like games as a service, and all sorts of paid content. The games may not be “highly acclaimed” but they seem to be making enough money that publishers keep chasing it.
I dont really thing a good game requires such big teams and huge budgets. But these publishers aren’t satisfied with simply making highly acclaimed games, or being profitable, they need millions in returns.