The prevalence of loot boxes in mobile and desktop games
- 1 September 2020
- Vol. 115 (9), 1768-1772
- https://doi.org/10.1111/add.14973
Abstract
Background and Aims Loot boxes are items in video games that may be bought for real-world money but provide randomized rewards. Formal similarities between loot boxes and gambling have led to concerns that they may provide a 'gateway' to gambling amongst children. However, the availability of loot boxes is unclear. This study aimed to determine what proportion of top-grossing video games contained loot boxes, and how many of those games were available to children. Design, setting and cases Survey of the 100 top-grossing games on both the Google Play store and the Apple App store, and the top 50 most-played games on Steam according to the data aggregator SteamSpy. Measurements The prevalence of loot boxes was measured for each platform outlined above, split by age rating. Findings A total of 58.0% of the top games on the Google Play store contained loot boxes, 59.0% of the top iPhone games contained loot boxes and 36.0% of the top games on the Steam store contained loot boxes; 93.1% of the Android games that featured loot boxes and 94.9% of the iPhone games that featured loot boxes were deemed suitable for children aged 12+. Age ratings were more conservative for desktop games. Only 38.8% of desktop games that featured loot boxes were available to children aged 12+. Conclusions Loot boxes appear to be prevalent in video games that are deemed suitable for children, especially on mobile platforms.This publication has 13 references indexed in Scilit:
- Paying for loot boxes is linked to problem gambling, regardless of specific features like cash-out and pay-to-winComputers in Human Behavior, 2019
- Adolescents and loot boxes: links with problem gambling and motivations for purchaseRoyal Society Open Science, 2019
- The relationship of loot box purchases to problem video gaming and problem gamblingAddictive Behaviors, 2019
- Associations between loot box use, problematic gaming and gambling, and gambling-related cognitionsAddictive Behaviors, 2019
- Loot boxes are again linked to problem gambling: Results of a replication studyPLOS ONE, 2019
- Video game loot boxes are linked to problem gambling: Results of a large-scale surveyPLOS ONE, 2018
- Video game loot boxes are psychologically akin to gamblingNature Human Behaviour, 2018
- The Relationship Between Distance from Gambling Venues and Gambling Participation and Problem Gambling Among U.S. AdultsJournal of Gambling Studies, 2015
- Access or adaptation? A meta-analysis of surveys of problem gambling prevalence in Australia and New Zealand with respect to concentration of electronic gaming machinesInternational Gambling Studies, 2009
- A pathways model of problem and pathological gamblingAddiction, 2002