It was less blatant. As another poster mentioned, the politics was part of the narrative. The GamerGate debacle was a big shifting point, where video games have become another cultural battlefield. I'm not picking on one side or the other, I just want to enjoy my video games in peace without people calling each other SJWs or racists or sexists.
Just as an example, there was a huge kerfuffle in Battlefield a few years ago because they added black and female playable characters. They proceeded to shove it in everyone's face so we could be in awe of how progressive they are, and then the counterparty threw a huge fit about how those people would not have been combatants in WWI. I don't particularly care either way about the change, because it doesn't impact my gameplay. I do care that for a while the entire community focused in on this one aspect that has almost nothing to do with the game itself. It makes me dislike both sides, because they're both getting in the way of the game.
Just as an example, there was a huge kerfuffle in Battlefield a few years ago because they added black and female playable characters. They proceeded to shove it in everyone's face so we could be in awe of how progressive they are, and then the counterparty threw a huge fit about how those people would not have been combatants in WWI. I don't particularly care either way about the change, because it doesn't impact my gameplay. I do care that for a while the entire community focused in on this one aspect that has almost nothing to do with the game itself. It makes me dislike both sides, because they're both getting in the way of the game.