In app purchases and Ads are ruining the App Store.

Djidhsdusksmalicmsoa wrote:

Which games can I download for my kids that aren’t trying to charge me weekly? Or that have these Ads that interrupt the game and we can’t get past it? every “free” game I download for them we open and then they make me pay a weekly/ monthly fee. Every time this happens I tell them to delete it. It is also extremely frustrating that some apps are making you pay these fees for no ads. It’s absolutely crooked and disgusting I am so frustrated. There should be better standards in place for app makers. I hate it here.

There are very few games that you can download these days whose developers are not trying to "nickel and dime" you to death.

Many years ago, when I bought my first iPad (now long obsolete), game developers charged a few dollars up front, but it was a one-time payment. In many cases, they would develop new levels for their games and release them to existing customers for free. Then developers discovered "in-app purchases" (especially of artificial consumables), and now pretty much all of the games are like coin-operated arcade games or vending machines. I see games that have $50 and $100 "in-app purchases" for such consumables – and it's "No thank you."

If you want to control your costs, you might look into subscribing to Apple Arcade.

Apple Arcade - Apple

A subscription is not free. The current price in the U.S. is $6.99 USD per month or $49.99 USD per year, which gets you a subscription that you can share with up to five family members. Many games aren't available in Apple Arcade versions. But hundreds of games are (on a rotating basis), and the Apple Arcade versions are completely free from ads and in-app purchases. Your children can play Apple Arcade games all year long for $49.99 USD total - instead of you being hit up time and time again for a $49.99 USD "wheelbarrow of ****berries" (to cite a rather infamous example).

There are very few free lunches in the App Store! Developers need to make a living. They'll do that by being paid to have ads in their game or by charging the player a subscription fee.

The fact that a game will have In-App Purchases is no mystery. A free game download will state that there are In-App Purchases directly under the Get button.

After selecting a game's Info page, you can also scroll down to see there are In-App Purchases.

And by clicking the arrow to the right of Yes, the In-App Purchases will be listed.

“Free” games are often supported by ads. Many also have paid tiers and offer in-app purchases. That is after all how the developer pays for the cost of creating the game.