Game publishers must fear the day when a FOSS game engine will be interfaced with a FOSS AI capable of creating credible worlds and interacting NPCs.

More recycled garbage that I can ignore

They already use procedural generation for worlds and stupid NPCs. If adding Open Source AI makes offline single player games more credible, I'd be all for it. If not also because that would force them to make online multiplayer games a lot more palatable. The point is creating competition, not discouraging multiplayer.

I only play single-player games anymore because I won't play any game that requires a connection to a server somewhere. So it's not a stance against multiplayer games (I still play old multiplayer games with my friends. They just don't require connecting with a third-party server) but a stance against phoning home.

That means there are quite a few single player games that are off the table for me as well.

There's too many single player games that require an internet connection though, usually for DRM or (if mobile) ad serving purposes :/

Single player games are not competitive enough for the people who believe in "the microtransactions are only cosmetic".

That's generally true, but I'd point out the Souls games which can be very rewarding for competitive people.

Who are you competing with, speed runners? I've played all of them but I never thought i should look online and find some other player to compete with in kill time or something.

Edit: oh funny. I forgot they had pvp in them. Because I've always ignored it and in Elden ring you can't get invaded unless you ask for it, so I never was.