A critical approach to how in-game purchasing mechanics are discussed is currently lacking in the literature; researchers commonly have difficulty in understanding why players tolerate mechanics they often deem as harmful. Criticality entails looking at how these seemingly contradictory arguments are formulated which involves discussing multiple mechanics and stakeholder perspectives not individually but as a discursive circulation. While criticality is lacking in research purchasing individual content within a video game is now more lucrative than selling an entire game (Newzoo, 2025). In relation to these in-game purchases thus far the academic literature has focused on loot boxes, but this focus is occurring while important prevalent mechanics such as battle passes have been underdeveloped. From these identifiable problems in the literature the aim was developed, to critically evaluate the role and function of microtransactions as an enabler of predatory monetisation in gamer and gaming industry stakeholder relationships within a neoliberal capitalist context. To achieve this aim, a stakeholder analysis including diary writing playing the popular free-to-play game Marvel Snap was used. Through this stakeholder critical method Predatory Monetisation as a research term was evaluated to analyse in-game purchases and used to identify resistance sites to mechanics gamers have deemed as harmful. Industry PR communications were analysed including advertising, educational conference presentations, and yearly reports. Direct messages were conducted with other gamers who have played Marvel Snap. Through this stakeholder analysis rhetorically psychology as a common-sense way to understand the world, gaming identity, and player agency were key important contributions which entered a discursive circulation from these groups. Analysis identified a neoliberal social reality in which players were conditioned to make their own informed purchasing choices while being told that psychological marketing techniques would make them act in a predictable way. A unique conceptualisation within gaming identity regarding choices in this research was with agency as specifically player agency but being established through an emphasis on video games interactivity allowing consumerism and meritocratic values. One way to approach agency in this conceptualisation is a unique scripted robot subject position which was analysed. Social reality and a scripted robot subject position is then crucially reified back into the real-world with gamification and reinforced back in the games through daily tasks which is underdeveloped in the literature. Overall, it was discussed that the lacking critical analysis with terms commonly used in the microtransaction research field such as player agency, cosmetics, and psychology has had unintended consequences; microtransaction discourses created a social reality in which neoliberal values were emphasized and players were disempowered.
| Date of Award | 13 Jul 2026 |
|---|
| Original language | English |
|---|
| Supervisor | Simon Kelly (Main Supervisor) & Gemma Bend (Co-Supervisor) |
|---|