If Unlockables weren’t a thing, what would you be playing for?

Genuinely interested because I cannot for the life of me fathom why MyFaction is still around, I’ve never really engaged with it but I’ve been playing since 2k14 and I never really saw online multiplayer as a huge draw for these games.

Aside from actually grinding the myfaction for the benefits of unlocking everything, are people actually seeking it out because they want to play it?

Like is it played out of obligation or because people actually enjoy the gameplay loop.

If there were no unlockables in the game what would you actually be doing.