Survey finds nearly half of Australian gamers lose money to manipulative game designs

Gamers are being left stressed and frustrated as they lose money and time trying to navigate designs made to manipulate them, a new study has found.

The study, “Playing the player: Unfair digital gaming practices and their impact on Australians,” by Monash University and the Consumer Policy Research Center (CPRC), found nearly half of gamers in Australia had been left out of pocket due to deceptive and manipulative designs built into platforms.

“The gaming industry is increasingly relying on exploitative design practices that put profits ahead of player well-being,” CPRC CEO Erin Turner said. “The research found 46% of gamers have experienced financial harm due to digital gaming, with nearly one-third feeling pressured into making purchases they didn’t intend to make.

“At least half of gamers encountered some form of privacy harm, and the fact that 42% of affected gamers don’t complain—even after financial loss—shows a serious gap in consumer protection. Many players feel powerless against these practices or don’t know where to turn for help.”

One of the report’s authors, Monash senior lecturer in media, Dr. Robbie Fordyce, said, “Harmful monetization strategies are rife across the gaming industry, and many players are aware of the disruptive, unfair, toxic and harmful impacts of these strategies.

“Getting the big picture on the negative impacts of in-game monetization will help us understand the scale of the problem and help people to make the right decisions around which games they play.”

The study of 800 Australians who engage at least weekly in digital gaming via console, desktop and/or mobile device, identified harmful practices such as:

• Deceptive designs that exploit user biases and vulnerabilities, such as trick questions/confusing language, disguised ads, confirm shaming, and false hierarchies
• Designs and reward dynamics akin to gambling, e.g., loot boxes, battle passes and skin betting
• Unfair in-game activity such as so-called “pay to win” item or currency packs
• Layers of in-game currencies that mask or distort real-world monetary costs (microtransactions)
• Manipulative practices which target children, such as click-to-pay systems or inappropriate ads appearing in games for children.

“Dark patterns are design choices that manipulate, confuse, and seek to extract money from our pockets. They appear everywhere—when we shop online, on social media, streaming services and booking systems,” one of the report’s authors, Monash University Associate Professor Brady Robards, said. “These exploitative design practices can come with serious harms, as they are generally not in the best interests of users.”‘

Some of the key insights from the survey include:

• 95% of Australian players encountered some form of dark game pattern, such as freemiums, hidden costs and redirections or pop-ups, in the past 12 months.
• 58% had encountered more than 10 different types of dark game patterns in the past 12 months.
• 83% had experienced what they perceive as a negative impact as a result of encountering a dark game pattern.
• 46% experienced some form of financial detriment from digital gaming such as spending more money than intended or making accidental purchases
• 52% encountered some form of privacy harm including accidentally signing up to something, sharing more personal information than intended or creating an unwanted account.

The report comes as Australia is considering introducing a ban on unfair business practices. This reform could address many of the worst harms identified, especially if combined with reforms to how businesses collect and use consumer data.