JMIR Serious Games, 2021 BackgroundVideo game loot boxes, which can typically be purchased by players or are given as reward, contain random virtual items, or loot, ranging from simple customization options for a player's avatar or character, to game-changing equipment such as ...
Ide, Soichiro +7 more
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Effects of self-isolation and quarantine on loot box spending and excessive gaming—results of a natural experiment [PDF]
PeerJ, 2021 COVID-19 has prompted widespread self-isolation and citywide/countrywide lockdowns. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has encouraged increased digital social activities such as video game play to counteract social isolation during the pandemic. However,
Lauren C. Hall +3 more
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Loot box spending is associated with greater distress when normalized to disposable income: a reanalysis and extension of Etchells et al. and Xiao et al. [PDF]
Royal Society Open ScienceLoot boxes are purchasable, randomized rewards available in some video games. These mechanisms share important psychological and legal similarities with conventional forms of gambling.
Aaron Drummond +4 more
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Increased user engagement on YouTube for loot box content and its potential relevance for behavioural addictions [PDF]
Scientific ReportsVideo games frequently contain loot boxes, i.e. virtual in-game items sharing structural similarities with gambling. On YouTube©, there are multi-million subscriber channels prominently featuring loot box-related content.
Elke Smith +4 more
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Rare Loot Box Rewards Trigger Larger Arousal and Reward Responses, and Greater Urge to Open More Loot Boxes. [PDF]
J Gambl Stud, 2021 AbstractLoot boxes are a purchasable video-game feature consisting of randomly determined, in-game virtual items. Due to their chance-based nature, there is much debate as to whether they constitute a form of gambling. We sought to address this issue by examining whether players treat virtual loot box rewards in a way that parallels established reward ...
Larche CJ +4 more
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Exploring the relationships between psychological variables and loot box engagement, part 2: exploratory analyses of complex relationships [PDF]
Royal Society Open ScienceIn a pre-registered survey linked to this paper (Exploring the relationships between psychological variables and loot box engagement, part 1: pre-registered hypotheses), we confirmed bivariate associations between engagement with loot boxes (purchasable ...
Stuart Gordon Spicer +8 more
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Loot box engagement: A scoping review of primary studies on prevalence and association with problematic gaming and gambling. [PDF]
PLoS ONE, 2022 BackgroundLoot boxes are an increasingly common type of random microtransaction in videogames. There is some concern about their expansion and entailed risks, especially among adolescents.
Irene Montiel +4 more
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Adolescents and loot boxes: links with problem gambling and motivations for purchase [PDF]
Royal Society Open Science, 2019 Loot boxes are items in video games that can be paid for with real-world money but contain randomized contents. Many games that feature loot boxes are played by adolescents.
David Zendle +2 more
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CDiGRA 2023 Extended Abstract: Loot boxes, gambling-related risk factors, and mental health in Mainland China: A large-scale survey [PDF]
, 2023 Loot boxes can be bought with real-world money to obtain random content inside video games (Drummond and Sauer 2018). Loot boxes are viewed by many as gambling-like and are prevalently implemented globally (Xiao 2023; Xiao, Henderson, and Newall 2023 ...
Leon Y. Xiao +3 more
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Does the loot box open the door to addiction? A case report of gaming disorder with high charges for loot box purchases [PDF]
PCN ReportsBackground A loot box is a gaming term for an electronic lottery that randomly provides items that enhance the gaming experience. In recent years, loot boxes have been increasingly discussed as a risk factor of gaming disorder (GD).
Tokuya Inaguma +5 more
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