Gambling disorder symptoms as an indirect marker of microtransaction spending in video games
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Video games have gained a lot of popularity over the past decades, generating large global revenue, mostly through in-game monetization referred to as microtransactions. Game developers have studied the psychological mechanisms in video game monetization presumably to increase potential revenues, which could for some gamers exacerbate negative personality traits. This is particularly true for microtransactions which may associate with gaming disorder symptoms and gambling disorder symptoms. There is currently insufficient research as to how the various forms of microtransactions relate to symptoms of gaming disorder and gambling disorder. We collected questionnaire data from 461 gamer participants. In order to explore the structure and interrelations between the variables, network analysis was applied. Our results align with previous findings that showed that the amount of money individuals spend on microtransactions increases with the risk of gaming disorder symptoms. However, we demonstrate that gambling disorder symptoms relate only indirectly to online spending through a direct link to physical game purchases. This finding is interesting considering the immaterial nature of microtransactions. Altogether, our findings highlight the need to disentangle gaming and gambling disorder symptoms and microtransactions, isolate psychological markers of problematic behavior, and aim to develop support or preventive technologies to come to the help of vulnerable gamers.
Source: PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints)
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7213514645