Fair challenge.

Honestly? The core loop of GO kept people playing for over a year with zero updates and complete silence from me. No new content, no events, nothing. They just kept playing. So yeah, I think the gameplay holds up on its own. The progression, the strategy, guild dynamics, PvP tension. That stuff works without the money part.

You're right that I've been talking economics a lot in these comments. That's because most of the questions were about economics. The gameplay is the part I'm actually confident in. The economy is the part I know I got wrong and need to fix. You just tend to talk more about the stuff you're trying to figure out than the stuff you already know works.

On the skins thing, yeah, cosmetics as revenue is the proven model. But it only works if the game is good enough that people actually want to express themselves in it. Which is basically your point. Gameplay first, everything else second.