Young people are aware of and normalize hidden design features of video games that encourage spending

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Originally, video games were a product you paid for once and that then provided as many hours of entertainment as users wanted to spend at the computer or console. Now, however, on the mobile phones that are in almost everybody’s pockets, the industry’s growth has taken a darker turn, with game design using a range of mechanisms that encourage user spending and can help normalize gambling habits. These are the findings of a study led by researchers at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) published in the journal Entertainment Computing, which reveals a consistent relationship between these hidden mechanisms and behaviors associated with problematic gambling among young people.

Image by [Mahmoud Yahyaoui](https://www.pexels.com/es-es/@391110010/ on Pexels)

The article, published in open access, reviews 15 scientific studies of the use of video games by people between the ages of 15 and 24, suggesting that these more or less hidden mechanisms in the architecture of video games exploit the vulnerabilities typical of young people, such as impulsiveness, reward sensitivity and social pressure, to push up revenues. “Realizing that, online, the boundaries between playing and betting were becoming blurred, especially among young people, led us to investigate what young people do, but also how the devices themselves and the design of the games condition these practices,” said Joan Arnedo and Daniel Aranda, the researchers from the Learning, Media and Entertainment Research Group (GAME) behind the study.

Joan Arnedo Moreno. Professor of the Faculty of Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications Director of the Master’s Degree in Video Game Design and Programming. Image credit: UOC

Daniel Aranda Juárez. Professor of the Faculty of Information and Communication Sciences. Image credit: UOC

The research team also included Antoni Baena (UOC), Joan J. Pons (Pompeu Fabra University) and Paula Rodríguez-Rivera (University of the Balearic Islands). The researchers highlight various systems built into the design of games to encourage consumption, such as “loot boxes” (collections of random rewards that serve to personalize games or give players competitive advantages), virtual currencies that disconnect from real money and hide spending, systems to advance faster through payment, and temporary offers that give a sensation of urgency. “These are not isolated tricks,” explained Aranda, “but features built into the architecture of the game, designed to prolong playing time and stimulate spending.”

A conscious “deception”
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One of the most significant findings of the study is that young people are not simply ‘fooled’ by monetization systems: they are often aware of them, but accept them as part of the gaming experience. This acceptance cannot be understood only at the individual level, but within the framework of a broader ecosystem in which the video game functions as an economic and financial infrastructure. “Video games based on this type of strategy are platforms designed to generate data, calling for constant attention and continuous spending,” according to researchers from the Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Social and Cultural Transformations (UOC-TRÀNSIC).

The most problematic mechanisms are those that combine uncertainty and reward, especially when they involve repeated spending with no guarantee of results, such as loot boxes, but also systems that make it difficult to trace spending, such as virtual currencies, and those that penalize players who do not spend by slowing down their progress in the game. “Loot boxes have been identified as the most significant mechanism, but this is because most of the research has focused almost exclusively on this. The other patterns have not been studied in such detail, but problems associated with them have also been found,” said Joan Arnedo, a member of teaching staff at the Faculty of Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications.

Young people are no strangers to these video game dynamics. “In many cases, they know how these systems work and accept them as a normal part of the gaming experience, because they do not appear as external or imposed mechanisms, but as a component part of the game itself and its ecosystem,” said Aranda, who teaches in the Faculty of Information and Communication Sciences. “Many young people have grown up with these systems and see them as the norm, not as a deviation,” he added.

Moreover, due to their design, the link between young people and gaming is not only functional. There is also a bond related to affection and personal projection: stopping play does not simply imply interrupting an activity, but also turning away from a whole world of possibility, progress, achievement and belonging. This means that, even if they are critically aware, it is often easier to continue playing than to quit.

Mass consumption, moderate expenditure
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The incorporation of gambling mechanisms into video games, also known as gamblification, has had an impact on the habits of young people. A survey carried out in the course of this research of a thousand people between the ages of 16 and 25 showed 92.7% of young people regularly play video games. Mobile phones are the outstanding gaming platform (70.9%), followed by consoles (47.6%) and PCs (45.1%), while tablets are used much less (10.9%). More than half of young people (57.7%) spend between 3 and 10 hours a week playing and 21.8% spend more than 10 hours a week.

Ronald Andrés Sáenz Leandro. Researcher of the GAME group. Image credit: UOC

This qualitative study (infographic available in Spanish), in which Ronald Sáenz Leandro, who recently earned his PhD at the UOC and is a researcher in the GAME group, took part, also investigated spending, finding that six out of ten young people say they spend money every month on video games, although mostly in small amounts. The most common case (22.7%) is those who spend between €1 and €9.99 per month, followed by 14.3% who spend between €10 and €19.99 and 11.3% who spend less than one euro. However, 38.4% of young players don’t spend anything. **The data, therefore, show that spending is common but consists of occasional small amounts, reinforcing the idea that the design of video games – based on chance, urgency and payment – can normalize consumption within the game.

We need to rethink how games are regulated
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Based on these results, the UOC experts propose rethinking current regulations by also incorporating the logic of design, monetization and interaction typical of contemporary video games. “This involves expanding the criteria to explicitly include dark patterns, random-based mechanics and the internal economies of games, as well as strengthening transparency requirements, especially with regard to probabilities, real costs and virtual currency conversion systems,” Arnedo said. “There is an urgent need for coordinated action to reduce the risks associated with these digital environments,” Aranda added.

The authors argue that the video game industry is viable without these hidden mechanisms (there are examples of good practice, with transparent one-time purchase, subscription or monetization models). Companies should, therefore, review their design practices from the viewpoint of responsibility, recognizing that decisions about mechanics, interfaces and monetization systems have direct effects on players’ behavior, emotions and consumption.

The UOC develops new tools
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The project has not only made it possible to identify the problem; UOC researchers are also developing tools to address it. They are already working on the creation of an educational analysis app that will identify and flag these mechanisms in video games. They are also preparing a series of preventive recommendations and lines of action for professionals and institutions.

In addition, through Joan Arnedo, the UOC is participating in the Konexio-Ona project, an educational and social initiative whose main aim is to analyse and work on the impact of technology on young people, especially in the development of their identity and habits. Through educational initiatives, workshops and pedagogical material aimed at schools, families and professionals, the programme, also supported by the University of Vitoria-Gasteiz (EUNEIZ), the TecnoCampus and the Álava Association of Recovering Gamblers (ASAJER), seeks to raise awareness of the role of hidden patterns in video games and propose safer and more responsible alternatives. Due to its interest, the programme is one of the three short-listed projects to be presented to the Senate this month for the 2026 Internet Day Awards.

Aranda and Arnedo also agree that the video game industry needs to move away from dependence on self-regulation towards more robust control mechanisms, such as effective age verification, the implementation of limits on spending and time, and the introduction of design safeguards that reduce urgency and monetary pressure. The authors also recommend the integration of these problems within the general frameworks of preventive medicine and public health, which do not currently have specific protocols for gamblification.

The study is part of the UOC’s Culture for a critical society and Ethical and human-centred technology research missions and supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially 4, Quality Education, and 12, Responsible Consumption and Production.

Citation
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The aticle The impact of video game use of dark patterns and random reward mechanisms on the youth: A systematic literature review fue publicado en Entertainment Computing. Authors: Joan Arnedo-Moreno, Joan J. Pons López, Paula Rodríguez-Rivera, Antoni Baena & Daniel Aranda.
The article Young people are aware of and normalize hidden design features of video games that encourage spending, signed by Xavier Aguilar and Sònia Armengou was published in the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya’s news section.