The economics of in-game microtransactions
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2025-07-08
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en
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This thesis investigates the psychological and contextual drivers of players’ willingness to spend money on in-game transactions, which is a growing revenue model in the gaming industry. By applying a randomized a survey experiment with vignette scenarios, this research examines how different monetization strategies (Competitive advantage, cosmetic personalization, emotional immersion, and traditional no in-game purchases) affect players’ willingness to buy (WTB), and how this relationship is moderated by individual traits such as income, age, overconfidence, mental accounting, and signaling motivations.
The findings show that in-game purchases generally reduce WTB when compared to a traditional game with all the game content upfront. However, there are individual differences that matter: higher-income and overconfident players are more tolerant of competitive monetization, while those with strong signaling motivations are more sensitive to cosmetic related transactions.
The findings confirm that monetization should be tailored to diverse consumer preferences in digital markets. To create fair and lasting in-game economies, developers and regulators should take into account the psychological processes underlying player spending. The implications for game design, regulation, and future research directions are discussed in the conclusion.
Keywords: In-game purchases, Behavioural economics, Digital consumer behaviour, Game monetization, Mental accounting, Social signaling, Microtransactions, Willingness to buy.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen