One of my favorites is a certain cosy harem game. I love it. I can't afford to stay subbed to the patreon, but I always 'buy' every update to show my support where I can. They largely did the same thing this latest update to one degree or another. Focused on a character no one particularly cares about, stealing time from the main plot and the girls they've been establishing since day one. And because she's isolated from the others, there's not even any interaction.
On the one hand, I wouldn't mind if it was a completed game. Content is content. But with releases on a lot of these big AVNs now taking 1+ years I can't help but look at deviations and side girls as a drag, knowing that every frame the author has dedicated to them is a frame I lose with the characters I actually care about.
As someone who had never used the skip button in this particular game I found myself skipping through the drawn out scenes with the newish girl, frustrated.
I still love the game, and will anticipate every release, but I'm starting to feel these long release cycles a lot more than I used to.