The Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC), in partnership with Monash University, has released a study, titled Playing the Player, analysing the spread of dark patterns – deceptive or manipulative design – within video games, and their impact on vulnerable players. Per this report, around 95% of adults surveyed (of a pool of 800 adult Australians) have been exposed to recognisable dark patterns in video games at least once, with some experiencing harm, as a result.
Per the report, the most commonly-identified dark patterns were freemiums (video games that are free, but have microtransactions), hidden costs, and redirections or pop-ups within games. Of these, the most harmful proved to be hidden costs, as well as data grabs, and freemiums. Over 83% of survey respondents indicated a “negative impact” as a result of encountering a dark pattern within a game.
46% specifically experienced a financial detriment, with many reporting they felt pressured into buying something (27%), spent more money than they intended (30%), or accidentally made a purchase (19%). In some cases, this led to feeling manipulated, or feelings of general annoyance.
In analysing this data, the CPRC and Monash University are calling on the Australian Government to better protect vulnerable consumers, while also making unfair practices in video games illegal. As noted by researchers, in October 2024, the Australian Government announced it was looking to ban unfair trading practices and legislate against them. The report aims to identify how this legislation may also positively change video games, providing protections for consumers, and reducing or removing the spread of dark patterns in games.
Playing the Player: Recommendations for the future
The recommendations made by the Playing the Player report focus on many key areas, with consumer safety and privacy being core concerns. It also aims to encourage a ban on “gambling-like designs” in video games, including the spread of loot boxes.
“There is growing momentum for stronger regulations around gambling-like elements, such
as loot boxes, within digital games,” the report states. “European Union countries have introduced bans or strict guidelines to mitigate these risks. Australia needs to consider these examples and insist on clearer pricing, probability disclosures, and spending controls for in-game purchases, thus allowing players to make informed decisions.”
Read: Video games with loot boxes will now get minimum M-rating in Australia
Informed decision-making is the basis of this report, with recommendations focussed on how best to keep players across dark patterns, and specifically aware of the potential harm they may cause. Microtransactions are already labelled on physical game releases, but clearer labelling that makes players aware of possible total spend, in real-world currency, could also aid education, and help players to avoid overspending.
In addition to calling for better and clearer education, the report further recommends stronger penalties for game publishers who breach the Australian Consumer Law, as well as “clear, accessible pathways” for resolving any consumer disputes, with a Digital Ombudsman available to help consumers.
The study did not involve children, but included games available to children
What’s most notable about the Playing the Player report is that CPRC and Monash University specifically did not survey children (those under the age of 18 years) for its research. It did, however, discover “examples of harmful gaming tactics” in video games that were available or appealing to children.
In surveying adults, the study reveals that dark patterns impact even those of a mature age, with certain practices inspiring them to spend more than they intend, or spend unintentionally. If adults are unable to resist the pull of dark patterns, then children are even more vulnerable. It means more must be done to prevent harmful practices in games, and ensure recourse is available.
As the study fairly makes clear, video games are played for a variety of reasons. They serve as tools for fun and entertainment. They help players develop problem solving skills, to exercise competitiveness or earn a sense of achievement, to help spark creativity, to form social connections between friends. Video games, inherently, are great.
But in acknowledging the benefits they bring, it’s also important to underline the potential harm that some games may cause, and the need to protect players from poor practices.
Free-to-play games should be a focus of legislation
As noted in the report, 33% of players felt the fun of video games stopped when dark patterns emerged, disrupting gameplay and causing significant frustration.
“Games basically lovebomb you at the beginning and then take it away once you are acclimated to that level of progression and pay to get it back,” one survey respondent said. “They lock basic UX functions and mechanics behind paywalls so you have to pay just for basic functionality and antifrustration.”
Read: UK study recommends loot boxes for 18+ only
Specifically, these comments refer to pay-to-win practices commonly found in mobile games and other free-to-play games. Notably, many of these games are played by children, as these are the games available to them, on limited budgets, or on easily accessible parental or personal devices (phones, tablets).
Adult players are better able to identify dark patterns and the cause of their frustrations, but children accessing the same games do not have the same cognitive reasoning, or enough experience to recognise when deceptive practices are present. As previous studies have shown, children exposed to dark patterns which emulate gambling-like behaviour early, are also more vulnerable to gambling with real money, later in life.
“While the evidence is not fully developed in relation to the harms of loot box features in games, young people who play these types of games may be more likely to gamble with real money in adulthood, and players can be manipulated into spending more money than they can afford to lose,” a 2024 report from the Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs report commissioned by the Australian Government stated.
This inspired new classification laws that placed a minimum Mature (M) rating on any game released with “in-game purchases linked to elements of chance, such as paid loot boxes.” It also outlined that video games that contained any form of simulated gambling would be given a mandatory R18+ rating, restricting their sale to people over the age of 18.
The Playing the Player report, penned in the months after these decisions, calls for greater change going forward, outlining the clear harms that dark patterns have on adults, and how they may be transferred to children.
With a review of unfair business practices currently gestating in Australian parliament, there could be further reform in future. For now, the CRPC and Monash University are presenting their findings in the hope of inspiring this change. You can view the full Playing the Player report via the CPRC website.
发表回复