Zinan Zhang, Sam Moradzadeh, Xinning Gui, Yubo Kou
Predatory monetization in video games refers to purchasing systems that hide or postpone the complete financial consequences until players are already deeply committed, both financially and emotionally. These systems manipulate players into spending against their genuine interests, benefiting game companies while causing potential financial harm. This issue has drawn increasing scholarly and societal attention, but little research has explored how players perceive the influence of predatory monetization on their gaming experiences. Through an interview study with 23 players of popular user-generated games hosted on platforms such as Roblox and Minecraft and a reflexive thematic analysis, we identified three key influences of predatory monetization: felt manipulation, monetized interpersonal relationships, and risks with mitigation strategies. We further describe social monetization, where monetization and players’ social experiences are closely intertwined, as well as the ecosystem of predatory monetization, where multiple stakeholders play interconnected roles in enabling and sustaining predatory monetization practices. Finally, we offer design implications for mitigating the negative influences of predatory monetization.