I dipped out when games jumped to $60 CAD sometime back in the XBox 360 era iirc. (For context, games are $80-90 CAD now.) Since then, I’ve bought maybe 4 or 5 AAA games total.
That era was also when indie games exploded onto the scene. These indie games were/are better than most AAA titles, and way more affordable, so it just made sense to pivot.