: I suppose it was a pay gate for a short period of time for those who needed
: doubles. I don't understand such needs but, whatever.

: Maybe you can point out exactly where in the article such monetization
: behavior it represented? I don't quite connect the dots on it.

From the section 'Reward Removal'

"Research has shown that humans like getting rewards, but they hate losing what they already have much more than they value the same item as a reward"

People already had the reward (Team Doubles), felt justified that it was 'theirs' with the purchase of the game and their XBL subscription, and hours invested in the playlist (and True Skill high skills in ranked). Then it got taken away unless you put in extra money.