Come for the Game, Stay for the Cash Grab: The Ethics of Loot Boxes, Microtransactions, and Freemium Games

Abstract

In this article, I investigate the ethics of freemium games, microtransactions, and loot boxes. Three distinctions are relevant. First, there is a difference between a fixed-reward microtransaction and a random one, such as a loot box. Second, there is a difference between cosmetic items and those which affect gameplay; this is particularly pronounced in multiplayer games, where a player might have an advantage over another through the expenditure of real money. Third, there is a difference between items which are obtainable both for real money and for in-game effort and items which are only obtainable for real money. Ultimately, all three of these distinctions will prove necessary to show that fixed cosmetic rewards are ethically permissible, random rewards of all types are ethically problematic, and fixed functional rewards can be acceptable, but only under certain conditions.