BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Loot boxes are items in video games that may be bought for real-world money but provide randomized rewards. Formal similarities between loot boxes and gambling have led to concerns that they may provide a 'gateway' to gambling amongst children. However, the availability of loot boxes is unclear. This study aimed to determine what proportion of top-grossing video games contained loot boxes, and how many of those games were available to children. DESIGN, SETTING AND CASES: Survey of the 100 top-grossing games on both the Google Play store and the Apple App store, and the top 50 most-played games on Steam according to the data aggregator SteamSpy. MEASUREMENTS: The prevalence of loot boxes was measured for each platform outlined above, split by age rating. FINDINGS: A total of 58.0% of the top games on the Google Play store contained loot boxes, 59.0% of the top iPhone games contained loot boxes and 36.0% of the top games on the Steam store contained loot boxes; 93.1% of the Android games that featured loot boxes and 94.9% of the iPhone games that featured loot boxes were deemed suitable for children aged 12+. Age ratings were more conservative for desktop games. Only 38.8% of desktop games that featured loot boxes were available to children aged 12+. CONCLUSIONS: Loot boxes appear to be prevalent in video games that are deemed suitable for children, especially on mobile platforms.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Loot boxes are items in video games that may be bought for real-world money but provide randomized rewards. Formal similarities between loot boxes and gambling have led to concerns that they may provide a 'gateway' to gambling amongst children. However, the availability of loot boxes is unclear. This study aimed to determine what proportion of top-grossing video games contained loot boxes, and how many of those games were available to children. DESIGN, SETTING AND CASES: Survey of the 100 top-grossing games on both the Google Play store and the Apple App store, and the top 50 most-played games on Steam according to the data aggregator SteamSpy. MEASUREMENTS: The prevalence of loot boxes was measured for each platform outlined above, split by age rating. FINDINGS: A total of 58.0% of the top games on the Google Play store contained loot boxes, 59.0% of the top iPhone games contained loot boxes and 36.0% of the top games on the Steam store contained loot boxes; 93.1% of the Android games that featured loot boxes and 94.9% of the iPhone games that featured loot boxes were deemed suitable for children aged 12+. Age ratings were more conservative for desktop games. Only 38.8% of desktop games that featured loot boxes were available to children aged 12+. CONCLUSIONS: Loot boxes appear to be prevalent in video games that are deemed suitable for children, especially on mobile platforms.
Authors: Nerilee Hing; Matthew Rockloff; Alex M T Russell; Matthew Browne; Philip Newall; Nancy Greer; Daniel L King; Hannah Thorne Journal: J Behav Addict Date: 2022-04-05 Impact factor: 7.772
Authors: Jéssica Ortega-Barón; Joaquín González-Cabrera; Juan M Machimbarrena; Irene Montiel Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-04-16 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Laura Louise Nicklin; Stuart Gordon Spicer; James Close; Jonathan Parke; Oliver Smith; Thomas Raymen; Helen Lloyd; Joanne Lloyd Journal: J Clin Med Date: 2021-05-13 Impact factor: 4.241
Authors: Joanne Lloyd; Laura Louise Nicklin; Stuart Gordon Spicer; Chris Fullwood; Maria Uther; Daniel P Hinton; Jonathan Parke; Helen Lloyd; James Close Journal: J Clin Med Date: 2021-12-18 Impact factor: 4.241