Loot boxes in the video game industry: digital capitalism, psychosocial risks, and socio-educational responses 288 161
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51896/easc.v4i1.1240Keywords:
Video games, Cultural Industry, Digital Education, Loot boxes, Gambling, Digital Capitalism, MicrotransactionsAbstract
Over recent decades, the video game industry has undergone a profound structural transformation associated with the expansion of digital capitalism and the consolidation of continuous monetisation models. Within this context, loot boxes have emerged as one of the most widespread mechanisms, prompting significant ethical, social, and legal debate due to their structural similarities to gambling and their potential influence on players’ behaviour. This article presents a psychosocial analysis of the phenomenon based on a documentary review of recent scientific literature. It explores their historical development, their position within the political economy of digital leisure, the available empirical evidence concerning psychosocial risks, and the regulatory responses that have begun to emerge. In addition, it advances a critique of the logic of unlimited profit that enables their normalisation in the absence of effective regulation, while proposing an alternative approach grounded in digital literacy, informational transparency, and education for responsible use. The findings indicate that loot boxes function as a paradigmatic mechanism of value extraction in digital environments and as a means of reproducing broader capitalist dynamics, carrying significant implications for consumer protection, particularly in relation to minors. The article concludes by outlining the role that public policy should assume through the combined use of regulatory measures and socio-educational strategies to address this phenomenon in a comprehensive manner, avoiding processes of stigmatisation and negative framing.
References
Abbott, M. (2020). The changing epidemiology of gambling disorder and gambling-related harm: Public health implications. Public Health, 184, 41–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2020.04.003
Aonso, G., García, Á. & Krotter, A. (2025). Impact of Spanish gambling regulations on online gambling behavior and marketing strategies. Harm Reduction Journal, 22, 107. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-025-01219-7
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Brunt, T. M., Nagy, C., Bücheli, A., Martins, D., Ugarte, M., Beduwe, C., Ventura, M., & van den Brink, W. (2017). Drug testing in Europe: Monitoring results of the Trans European Drug Information (TEDI) project. Drug Testing and Analysis, 9(2), 188–198. https://doi.org/10.1002/dta.1954
Belli, S. (2024). Explorando las emociones: nuevas perspectivas de investigación. Tirant lo Blanch.
Calado, F., & Griffiths, M. D. (2016). Problem gambling worldwide: An update and systematic review of empirical research (2000–2015). Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 5(4), 592–613. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.5.2016.073
Cordes, S., Dertwinkel-Kalt, M., & Werner, T. (2024). What drives demand for loot boxes? An experimental study. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 228, 106755. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2024.106755
Couldry, N., & Mejias, U. A. (2019). The costs of connection: How data is colonizing human life and appropriating it for capitalism. Stanford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781503609754
DeCamp, W., & Daly, K. (2023). Loot box consumption by adolescents before and after pandemic lockdown. PeerJ, 11, e15287. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.15287
Drummond, A., & Sauer, J. D. (2018). Video game loot boxes are psychologically akin to gambling. Nature Human Behaviour, 2, 530–532. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0360-1
Drummond, A., Sauer, J. D., Hall, L. C., Zendle, D., & Loudon, M. R. (2020). Why loot boxes could be regulated as gambling. Nature Human Behaviour, 4, 986–988. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0900-3
Drummond, A., Hall, L. C., & Sauer, J. D. (2022). Surprisingly high prevalence rates of severe psychological distress among consumers who purchase loot boxes in video games. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 16128. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-20549-1
Fernández, D., Gallego, E., & de la Vega, B. (2022). Energy Control: reflexiones teóricas sobre un programa español de reducción de riesgos, desde el paradigma de la biopolítica. Cultura y Droga, 27(33), 42-61. https://doi.org/10.17151/culdr.2022.27.33.3
Fernández, D., Gallego, E., & Hontoria, P. (2023). Sumisión química en mujeres y sus representaciones en medios de comunicación españoles. Cuicuilco. Revista de Ciencias Antropológicas, 30(88), 241-266. https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=529577373012
Fernández, D., Hontoria, P., Navarro, J., Vidal, C., & de la Vega Moreno, B. (2025). De problema de drogas a problemática en drogas. Por una conceptualización coherente en el ámbito de las adicciones. Revista Internacional de Educación y Análisis Social Crítico Mañé, Ferrer & Swartz, 3(1), 170–210. https://doi.org/10.51896/easc.v3i1.884
Fernández, D., Navarro, J., Vidal, C., & de la Vega, B. (2024). Energy Control: más de 25 años rompiendo con la prohibición del consumo de drogas. Revista Internacional de Educación y Análisis Social Crítico Mañé, Ferrer & Swartz, 2(1), 204–249. https://doi.org/10.51896/easc.v2i1.542
Grant, M. J., & Booth, A. (2009). A typology of reviews: an analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health information and libraries journal, 26(2), 91-108. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x
Griffiths, M. (2005). A ‘components’ model of addiction within a biopsychosocial framework. Journal of Substance Use, 10(4), 191–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/14659890500114359
Griffiths, M. D. (2019). Loot box buying among adolescent gamers: A cause for concern? Education and Health, 37(3), 63–66. https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/38055
Gutiérrez-Manjón, S., Gómez-García, S., & Bonales-Daimiel, G. (2026). Diseño para la monetización: una taxonomía de patrones oscuros en los videojuegos GaaS de mayor recaudación. Trípodes , (59), 05. https://doi.org/10.51698/tripodos.2026.59.05
Hernández, R., Fernández, C., & Baptista, P. (2014). Metodología de la investigación (6.ª ed.). McGraw-Hill.
King, D. L., & Delfabbro, P. H. (2018). Predatory monetization schemes in video games (e.g., loot boxes) and internet gaming disorder. Addiction, 113(11), 1967–1969. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.14286
King, D. L., & Delfabbro, P. H. (2019). Video game monetization (e.g., “loot boxes”): A blueprint for practical social responsibility measures. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 17, 166–179. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-018-0009-3
Larche, C. J., Chini, K., Lee, C., Dixon, M. J., & Fernandes, M. (2021). Rare Loot Box Rewards Trigger Larger Arousal and Reward Responses, and Greater Urge to Open More Loot Boxes. Journal of Gambling Studies, 37(1), 141–163. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-019-09913-5
Livingstone, S., & Helsper, E. (2008). Parental mediation of children’s internet use. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 52(4), 581–599. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838150802437396
Lundy, T., Raman, N., Fu, H., & Leyton-Brown, K. (2023). Pay to (Not) Play: Monetizing impatience in mobile games. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.10205
Marionneau, V., Ruohio, H., & Karlsson, N. (2023). Gambling harm prevention and harm reduction in online environments: A call for action. Harm Reduction Journal, 20, 92. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-023-00828-4
Marlatt, G. A. (1996). Harm reduction: Come as you are. Addictive Behaviors, 21(6), 779–788. https://doi.org/10.1016/0306-4603(96)00042-1
Nieborg, D. B., & Poell, T. (2018). The platformization of cultural production: Theorizing the contingent cultural commodity. New Media & Society, 20(11), 4275–4292. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444818769694
Nielsen, R. K., & Grabarczyk, P. (2019). Are loot boxes gambling? Random reward mechanisms in video games. Transactions of the Digital Games Research Association, 4(3). https://doi.org/10.26503/todigra.v4i3.104
Petrovskaya, E., & Zendle, D. (2022). Predatory monetization? A categorization of unfair, deceptive, and aggressive monetization techniques in digital games from the player’s perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 181, 1065–1081. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04970-6
Rhodes, T. (2009). Risk environments and drug harms: A social science for harm reduction approach. International Journal of Drug Policy, 20(3), 193–201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2008.10.003
Torraco, R. J. (2005). Cómo escribir revisiones bibliográficas integradoras: pautas y ejemplos. Human Resource Development Review, 4(3), 356-367. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534484305278283
Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039
Srnicek, N. (2017). The challenges of platform capitalism: Understanding the logic of a new business model. Juncture, 23, 254-257. https://doi.org/10.1111/newe.12023
Thaler, R. H., & Sunstein, C. R. (2008). Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness. Yale University Press.
Terry, G., Hayfield, N., Clarke, V., & Braun, V. (2017). Thematic analysis. En C. Willig & W. Stainton Rogers (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research in psychology (2.ª ed., pp. 17-37). SAGE. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526405555.n2
Veiga, E., Silva, N., Gadelha, B., Oliveira, H., & Conte, T. (2025). Dark patterns in games: An empirical study of their harmfulness. En J. Filipe, M. Smialk, A. Brodsky, & S. Hammoudi (Eds.), Proceedings of the 27th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems (pp. 470-481). https://doi.org/10.5220/0013365800003929
Wardle, H., & Zendle, D. (2021). Loot Boxes, Gambling, and Problem Gambling Among Young People: Results from a Cross-Sectional Online Survey. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 24(4), 267- 274. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2020.0299
Xiao, L. Y. (2021). Regulating loot boxes as gambling? Towards a combined legal and self-regulatory consumer protection approach. Interactive Entertainment Law Review, 4(1), 27–47. https://doi.org/10.4337/ielr.2021.01.02
Xiao, L. Y., Henderson, L. L., & Newall, P. W. S. (2023). What are the odds? Poor compliance with UK loot box probability disclosure industry self-regulation. PLoS ONE, 18(9), e0286681. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286681
Zhang, L., Shao, Z., Li, X., & Feng, Y. (2021). Gamification and online impulse buying: The moderating effect of gender and age. International Journal of Information Management, 61, 102267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102267
Zendle, D., & Cairns, P. (2018). Video game loot boxes are linked to problem gambling. PLOS ONE, 13(11), e0206767. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0206767
Zuboff, S. (2019). The age of surveillance capitalism. Profile Books.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
