South Park’s series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have never been shy in approaching some of the most controversial topics imaginable in their Emmy-winning show, but it seems their latest episode from season 18, “Freemium Isn’t Free,” centered on taking apart the idea of microtransactions and free-to-play titles.
Similar to Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff or The Simpsons: Tapped Out, “Freemium Isn’t Free” has the Canadian duo Terrance and Phillip having a free-to-play mobile game based on them called ‘Terrance & Philip: Give Us Your Money,’ with some of the boys — Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman and Kenny McCormick — unaffected by microtransactions while Stan Marsh spends thousands on in-app purchases.
Cases have continued to crop up over the past few years regarding microtransactions made in free-to-play titles, including a more recent story of a 15-year-old Belgian boy spending up to €37,000 (approximately $46,000 and £29,006) on Game of War: Fire Age.
Finished watching the latest episode? Do you think Parker and Stone accurately depicted microtransactions and free-to-play games? Leave your thoughts in the comments.