In-App Purchasing Decision in Freemium Games
Investigating the relationship between self-control and in-app-purchasing decisions in freemium games such as Candy Crush Sage™.
Research, Project
User Research
Project Overview
This research explores the relationship between players' self-regulation abilities and their in-app purchasing decisions in freemium games like Candy Crush Saga. While free-to-play games offer entertainment without upfront costs, their monetization strategies can create challenging self-control situations for players.
Research Questions
- How do freemium design models impact players' self-regulation processes?
- Is there a relationship between trait self-control and in-app purchasing behavior?
- What psychological factors influence players' decisions to spend money in these games?
The Challenge
Free-to-play games create decision points where players must choose between experiencing frustration by being stuck, paying small amounts to progress, or waiting for free attempts to replenish. These "low-cost temptations" make it difficult for players to identify the cumulative impact of many small purchases on their long-term financial goals.
The challenge is particularly significant because these small, seemingly inconsequential purchasing decisions can accumulate over time. Each individual purchase may appear negligible—like a dieter thinking "just one" donut is fine, then repeatedly making the same choice throughout the day until consumption becomes problematic.
Research Journey & Methodology
This research emerged from observing the rapid growth of freemium games and their impact on player behavior. I designed a mixed-methods study to investigate both quantitative relationships between psychological traits and purchasing behaviors, as well as the qualitative experiences of players making these decisions.
Methodological Approach
I deliberately chose a mixed-methods approach to capture both statistical relationships and the lived experiences of players. This combination allowed me to triangulate findings and develop a more comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon than either method alone could provide.
- Survey instruments: Self-Control Scale (measuring broad self-regulation competencies), Game Addiction Scale, and Problem Video Game Playing Scale
- Quantitative analysis: Investigating correlational relationships between money spent, time played, and self-control measures
- Qualitative analysis: Thematic analysis of open-ended responses about players' experiences when deciding whether to spend money
- Participant sample: 88 active Candy Crush Saga players recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk
Hypotheses
H1: Participants with higher trait self-control spend less money on in-app purchases
H2: Participants who spend more money spend more time playing
H3: Participants with lower self-control have higher game addiction levels
Key Findings
Self-Control and Purchasing Behavior
The data revealed a significant negative correlation (r = -.400, p = .029) between trait self-control and the amount of money spent in the game. This supports the hypothesis that players with lower self-regulation capacity are more vulnerable to spending in freemium games.
Figure: Relationship between self-control and money spent (circle area represents time spent daily)
Correlation Analysis
| Variables | Amount of money spent (N=30) | Trait self-control (N=88) | Average playing time (N=88) | GAS (N=88) | PVP (N=88) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trait self-control | -.400* (.029) | - | -.083 (.441) | -.195 (.069) | -.071 (.514) |
| Average playing time | .124 (.515) | - | - | .318** (.003) | .279** (.009) |
| Game addiction scale (GAS) | .123 (.518) | - | - | - | .700** (<.001) |
Note: Parentheses show standard errors. *p <.05, **p <.01. Only 30 of 88 participants reported spending money.
Experience of Choice Conflict
Through thematic analysis of open-ended responses, I found that 37% of participants reported experiencing a salient psychological conflict when deciding whether to spend money, while 25% used pre-commitment strategies to avoid temptation.
| Label | # Participants | % |
|---|---|---|
| Experiencing Choice Conflict | 33 | 37% |
| a) Having a pre-commitment, or policy to not spend any money. | 22 | 25% |
| b) Others | 10 | 11% |
| Did not report | 23 | 27% |
Motivations for Purchases
Players primarily described spending to escape frustration of being stuck, enjoy more game content, or avoid repeated failures when close to winning.
| Label | # Participants | % |
|---|---|---|
| Skipping the frustration of being stuck in the game | 11 | 13% |
| Being able to enjoy playing more of the game | 3 | 3% |
| Skipping the experience of one or repeated failures at the verge of winning | 3 | 3% |
| Did not report | 71 | 81% |
| Label | # Participants | % |
|---|---|---|
| Thinking that spending money is not a fair or proper way of progress in the game | 15 | 17% |
| Thinking that spending money is a proper or good way to progress in the game | 1 | 1% |
| Did not report | 73 | 82% |
Player Experiences
"I'm trying really hard not to spend money on games. I did it a few times after being stuck for weeks because I was frustrated but I'm trying not to do it again."
— Participant 80
"I am feeling really frustrated because I am having trouble getting past this level. I know that if I buy the fish boosters, then I would have an easier time of getting past this level. I am seriously contemplating hitting the buy now option on my iPad to purchase the boosters. I get frustrated with myself and disgusted at the game turn it off, and then go to play farm hero saga instead, which is similar to candy crush but it is a lot less difficult to spend money on it because it is easier to play."
— Participant 7
Theoretical Framework & Analysis
The findings demonstrate a meaningful connection between self-regulation capacity and purchasing decisions in freemium games. This relationship can be understood through different psychological frameworks:
Promotion vs. Prevention Motivation
Players' motivational systems appear to be primarily driven by prevention focus (avoiding frustration) rather than promotion focus (seeking advancement). Qualitative analysis revealed that many participants experienced strong feelings of frustration and were motivated to spend money to avoid the undesirable feeling of being stuck, rather than to approach the next level.
This finding challenges the common assumption that players primarily make purchases to enhance enjoyment. Instead, it suggests that the desire to avoid negative emotions plays a substantial role in purchasing decisions, which has significant implications for both ethical game design and understanding player psychology.
Self-Regulation Conflict
A substantial portion of participants (37%) reported experiencing choice conflict when deciding whether to spend money. This demonstrates that freemium games create situations where players must actively self-regulate, even when individual purchases are small. The prevalence of pre-commitment strategies (25%) further illustrates that players are developing meta-cognitive approaches to manage their behavior.
Implications and Impact
Design Implications
For Game Designers:
- Balance difficulty progression to minimize frustration-based purchases
- Provide alternative paths to overcome challenges beyond monetary solutions
- Implement purchase awareness features to help players track cumulative spending
- Consider ethical implications of designs that capitalize on negative emotions
For Players:
- Recognize choice conflict as a sign of potential self-regulation challenges
- Develop pre-commitment strategies for managing in-app purchase decisions
- Be aware of frustration-based decision making when stuck in challenging levels
Ethical Considerations
The research raises important ethical questions about game design patterns that may exploit psychological vulnerabilities. When players are making purchases primarily to avoid frustration rather than enhance enjoyment, designers should consider whether their monetization strategies are aligned with positive player experiences or potentially exploitative.
Some participants described spending as "cheating" or expressed negative feelings about purchasing decisions, suggesting that current monetization models may create cognitive dissonance and diminish overall player satisfaction.
Research Contributions
This study makes several key contributions to our understanding of player psychology and game design:
- Empirical evidence linking self-regulation capacity to in-app purchasing behavior
- Qualitative insights into the psychological mechanisms driving purchasing decisions
- Framework for analyzing freemium games through the lens of self-regulation and motivation theory
- Design considerations for more ethical and player-centered approaches to monetization
Limitations & Future Work
While this study provides valuable insights, several limitations should be acknowledged:
- The correlational design cannot establish causality between self-control and purchasing behavior
- The sample was limited to current Candy Crush players recruited through MTurk, potentially limiting generalizability
- Self-reported measures may be subject to social desirability bias, especially regarding spending amounts
Future research could address these limitations through experimental designs that manipulate game elements to observe effects on purchasing behavior, longitudinal studies tracking changes in spending patterns over time, or comparative studies across different game genres and player demographics.
By connecting psychological factors to purchasing behavior, this work helps inform more ethical and transparent approaches to game monetization while preserving player agency and wellbeing.
Source Article
Soroush, M., Hancock, M., & Bonns, V. K. (2014, October). Self-control in casual games: The relationship between Candy Crush Saga™ players' in-app purchases and self-control. In 2014 IEEE Games Media Entertainment (pp. 1-6). IEEE.