There are a few examples that don't fit, like; TF2 and Fortnite I suppose. But I'd always rather pay a fixed fee for a game and be confident there's no incentive to sell me something...
Fortnite, besides having their own issues, also have the issue of "secondary whale-chasers" which is all those youtube videos proclaiming that they found a hack to enable a bunch of skins or similar for free. This means installing (what I assume to be) bitcoin-miners on each twelve year old's machine. You'd think that wouldn't be possible on a machine used by a twelve year old but Epic is extra helpful in that it basically requires its game launcher to be run as admin (because of its frequent updates to Fortnite that requires admin rights). So I assume most parents make their kid's account admin out of convenience.
I often have to use TeamViewer to access the PC to allow Fortnite to upgrade, and they don't understand why I still insist on this - my warning about just about all the possible negatives have been completely ignored, but I'm sticking to my guns. I know I'm fighting a losing battle and eventually will have to give up on this, but at the moment, it's working. I'm sure most people have given up, made the kid and admin and the computer is awash with issues as a result.
Obviously if I'm not available (which is often the case as I'm self employed in a number of roles, most of which mean I can't be available instantly), then it has to wait, and you'd think the world was ending!
This was generally true for me too, but in 2019 games are primarily a social hangout spot. They're like a park or a concrete basketball court next to the parking lot, where the kids come hang out and shoot the shit in the lobby even if they aren't actively in a match.
Not being on the same game your mates are playing is akin to telling your kid "you can't go to your friends' park 30 minutes away, why don't you hang out in our perfectly nice backyard with a basketball hoop"
Edit: upvote for the rest of your comment though
I've not played it first hand though.
On the otherhand, this article is discussing someone addicted to the gambling element of TF2's crates (aka loot boxes).
One can not customize one’s avatar at all without buying stuff. So you’ll be stuck as a default clone to the derision of friends and enemies alike.
And the game is very much aimed at being played by school friends.
Which I find quite problematic. Moreso as the spending is unlimited. It's so sad that we allow the socioeconomic structures to be replicated in games targeted at pre teens.
Weirdly though competitive games in the end do make you buy somehow. Those games are ridiculously addictive to the gameplay itself and somehow they have huge player bases that stick for a long time. From my entire high school 2 years ago - 50% of the boys were addicted to playing some of the top free to play titles. When you put down thousands of hours in a game spending cash on it becomes very normal.
Fortnite (and other cosmetic only games) do not alter the game play