The bigger problem is the consolidation in the industry. 4-5 years ago, there were lots of relatively small studios making good money off of this 1-2% freemium

The bigger problem is the consolidation in the industry. 4-5 years ago, there were lots of relatively small studios making good money off of this 1-2% freemium model, while also releasing high quality games. However now, that money has dried up. Formerly successful studios that used to make a lot of money are having a hard time making ends meet on their own IP. The cost of user acquisition has gone up way too high, because the biggest players have effectively infinite ad spend.