Free-to-play games generate billions of dollars in revenue for developers every year, so they're clearly not as "free" as they seem. Part of the reason for this is that F2P games use psychological tricks that make it more likely that players will reach for their credit cards.
F2P games have a different purpose than standard games. To better understand how such games work, it's worth remembering that they are structured differently.
Traditional games are bought once. The idea is to sell the usa number data player a complete experience that will bring the most pleasure. If the game is good, it will sell in large numbers, and the developer will make a profit. It doesn't matter to the developer (at least in terms of financial gain) whether you play it once, many times, or never play it at all.
For free-to-play games, this relationship is different. Because they generate revenue through recurring small purchases, the developer's incentive is to keep you playing for as long as possible. Whether you enjoy it or not is secondary. This doesn't mean that free-to-play game developers don't care about fun, but they don't care about the reason as long as you keep paying.
and psychological principles that help to retain users and encourage them to spend money. Not everyone is equally susceptible to these techniques, but F2P games only need a small number of players to be profitable. Let's look at some of the psychological tricks.
1. The effect of secured progress
Many people encounter this phenomenon in real life or traditional games. When you come to a car wash and get a loyalty card, they stamp your first few service points as a "bonus."
In fact, it's a technique that increases the likelihood that you'll want to use the full package. People want to complete different combinations that have been artificially started for them by someone else.
In a traditional game like Skyrim, you might overhear a conversation between two characters and a quest will automatically start, or you might pick up an item and get a message telling you there are 9 more to find. You didn't decide to start the quest, but you still feel the urge to finish it. So don't be surprised if you're given the first part of a set of items in a F2P game.
Solution: It's not easy, but if you feel compelled to collect a full set of items, ask yourself who you're doing it for. Is it your initiative? Only proceed if you want to.
2. Fear of loss
Humans (and some other primates) are prone to the bias that loss is always worse than gain. We experience the annoyance of loss more than the pleasure of gain, so we tend to make decisions that allow us to avoid risking resources we already have. This usually manifests itself in risk aversion, but it can also motivate us to act when the chance of losing something presents itself.
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