Problem gamblers spend less money when loot boxes are removed from a game: a before and after study of Heroes of the Storm.

David Zendle

doi:10.7717/peerj.7700

Abstract

Loot boxes are items in video games that may be paid for with real-world money, but which contain randomised contents. There is a reliable correlation between loot box spending and problem gambling severity: the more money gamers spend on loot boxes, the more severe their problem gambling tends to be. However, it is unclear whether this link represents a case in which loot box spending causes problem gambling; a case in which the gambling-like nature of loot boxes cause problem gamblers to spend more money; or whether it simply represents a case in which there is a general dysregulation in in-game spending amongst problem gamblers, nonspecific to loot boxes. The multiplayer video game Heroes of the Storm recently removed loot boxes. In order to better understand links between loot boxes and problem gambling, we conducted an analysis of players of Heroes of the Storm (n = 112) both before and after the removal of loot boxes. There were a complex pattern of results. In general, when loot boxes were removed from Heroes of the Storm, problem gamblers appeared to spend significantly less money in-game in contrast to other groups. These results suggest that the presence of loot boxes in a game may lead to problem gamblers spending more money in-game. It therefore seems possible that links between loot box spending and problem gambling are not due to a general dysregulation in in-game spending amongst problem gamblers, but rather are to do with specific features of loot boxes themselves.

Highlights

Heroes of the Storm is a team-based multiplayer online video game
The effects of problem gambling severity and the presence of loot boxes on in-game spending were tested via a 4 × 2 mixed-design ANOVA, with time as a within-participants factor and problem gambling severity as a betweenparticipants factor
(3) They may occur because of a general dysregulation amongst problem gamblers when it comes to spending in video games

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Heroes of the Storm is a team-based multiplayer online video game. The game itself is free to play, and until 24th March 2019, Heroes of the Storm adopted a monetization strategy based around two different kinds of microtransactions. Problem gamblers spend less money when loot boxes are removed from a game: a before and after study of Heroes of the Storm. As noted in Blaszczynski & Nower (2002), a common step along a path to problem gambling is a process of conditioning in which intermittent rewards cause individuals to associate gambling activities with physiological excitement This leads to increased participation in gambling, and the development of habitual patterns of gambling and attendant problems. Exposure to the intermittent wins that characterise loot boxes may result in a similar process of conditioning in which loot box spenders learn to associate gambling-like experiences with excitement This may lead to engagement in gambling activities. Loot box spending may not be linked to problem gambling because of unique gambling-like features of loot boxes but may instead represent a broader trend for overspending on all in-game microtransactions amongst problem gamblers. By doing so we established whether removing loot boxes from a game uniquely affected spending amongst problem gamblers, as opposed to other groups of gamers

METHOD

Design

Participants

RESULTS

DISCUSSION

CONCLUSIONS