Activision and the insidious science of micropayments

The patent that explains how to make you pay

Involved as many other major publishers in the long-term monetization strategies of its productions, Activision filed a patent in 2015, the recent validation has been detected by Glixel . In this patent there are various invisible manipulations intended to push the player to purchase content in game.

" This is an exploratory patent proposed in 2015 by an R & D team working independently of our development studios. It was not implemented in a game, "defends a spokesman for Activision first. And especially not in Destiny 2 , assures a representative of Bungie, in spite of the polemic of the community concerning the new unique use of coatings. Named "system and method of driving micro-transactions in multiplayer video games", this patent details a variety of processes aimed at influencing the acceleration of micro-payments to the possible detriment of the natural balance of games, if one can say.

That it is by a well calculated use of the system of putting players in relation. "For example, the micro-transaction engine could connect an experienced player with a novice player to encourage the novice to buy items owned by the expert player. A novice player might want to imitate the experienced player by buying weapons or other items used by the veteran. "

By determining the goals of the player by consulting his profile. "In this example, the novice player might want to become an expert sniper (as determined by the player's profile). The micro-transaction engine could connect the novice player with a very skilled player in long range shooting. In this way, the player could be encouraged to make related purchases such as a rifle or other items used by the experienced player. "

Or even making sure to pamper the user's talents to comfort him in his purchases. " For example, if the player buys a particular weapon, the micro-transaction engine could put the player in a map where the weapon in question is highly effective, to give the player the impression that this weapon was a good buy. This could encourage the player to make other purchases in order to achieve similar results. "

The discovery of the research carried out via this patent comes in the middle of a turbulent period concerning the rise of purchases integrated into games like Star Wars: Battlefront II , Forza Motorsport 7 and Middle-earth: The Shadow of War . In 2016, Activision Blizzard's revenues from broad-based additional content reached a record $ 3.6 billion, compared to $ 1.6 billion in 2015. This amount includes expenses incurred by players of World of Warcraft , Overwatch , Call of Duty: Black Ops III and Candy Crush .