Doesn't surprise me at all. It's an O(n^2) algorithm (strlen called in a loop) in a part of the code where N is likely much smaller in the test environment (in-app purchases).
Overwatch is another an incredibly popular game with obvious bugs (the matchmaking time) front and center. And gamers are quick to excuse it as some sort of incredibly sophisticated matchmaking - just like the gamers mentioned in OP.
It's easy to to say it's something about gamers / gaming / fandom - but I have a locked down laptop issued by my bigcorp which is unbelievably slow. I'd bet a dollar there's a bug in the enterprise management software that spins the CPU. A lot of software just sucks and people use it anyway.
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