George C.

Stillfront Group contains a portfolio of game studios and a very profitable portfolio it is, judging from stockmarket enthusiasm.
https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/STILLFRONT-GROUP-AB-PUBL-*******/
Online gaming is a growth industry in the pandemic world but, following a recent experience detailed at the blog below, I am leaning to the conclusion that player conflict (ranging from taunting remarks to the most extreme abuse) is seen as a driver for revenue.
https://bullyingandharassmentinonlinegaming.wordpress.com
Stillfront claim that all their studios are allowed to operate near autonomously but there must be some common ground. Customer care policy and strategies for increasing revenue are contenders.

Any and all competitive games necessarily involve conflict at some level, it is all a question of degree. The ability to damage or steal assets of another player is probably the most contentious area and is discussed at the blog. Cheating is another issue. "Honest" players are frequently incensed by cheating antics of others and the temptation to reach for the credit card to fight back is powerful.
Goodgame Studios operate several fora where various cheating strategies are complained about (even openly debated as "normal" behaviour - https://discord.com/channels/**************/**************/**************) but despite having all the technological tools to seriously curtail cheating, very little has been done over a period of several years. Cheating is a win/win scenario, the cheats spend money and the victims then spend more to fight back. The only area where action is swift, obvious and severe is fraud, often payment default - draw your own conclusions on that!

The big question is whether Goodgame Studios are alone in operating a policy which encourages conflict to increase revenue, or whether it is common across the Group.

Feedback on other experiences with Stillfront Group might help to fill out the overall picture. Please comment at the blog.

Goodgame Studios are careful to stay within legal bounds in terms of gambling features and misleading advertising within the game - but that leaves a whole lot of room for bombarding players with "1 time only" specials and a host of "game of chance" features which only barely escape gambling legislation because the legal definition does not include in game currency (which, of course, is usually bought with real money!). It is one of the most money focussed games I know of and certainly falls into the "pay to win" category at high level.
Recommended strategy is to decide what you consider to be a reasonable and affordable budget and stick to it - potential for spending is enormous if allowed to get out of control.
Alternatively you can just play up to lvl50ish - which need not involve any spending at all - then allow the account to fall into disuse and restart playing with a new player name. This is the option I would recommend for young players, they can learn how the game works and what is or isn't worthwhile in terms of potential spending so that, if they decide to continue to higher level when a more mature, they will be getting best value from any purchases.