Skip to main content

Activision has a plan to make you want to pay for in-game items

activision patent matchmaking microtransactions destiny2bestps42
Activision received a new patent for a system that encourages gamers to buy in-game items, by leveraging its matchmaking system. The matchmaking system would pair inexperienced players with more experienced players to subtly influence their purchasing decisions.

Filed in 2015, but awarded this month, the patent protects a “system and method for driving microtransactions in multiplayer video games.” It discusses methods for encouraging players to pay for in-game items to increase their chances of success. Such methods could involve matching players in a manner that suggests they need to pay to catch up to their opposition or that highlights the differences in equipment to showcase what kind of loadout a player ‘should’ have in order to be competitive.

Related Videos

The system wouldn’t just use the stick of unfair matchmaking, but also offer a carrot for those who did pay for in-game items. As Rolling Stone describes, if a player makes a suggested purchase, their next game may be matched in a different way to make the use of the in-game item appear effective, indirectly validating their purchase.

“Doing so may enhance a level of enjoyment by the player for the game-related purchase, which may encourage future purchases,” the patent reads. “For example, if the player purchased a particular weapon, the microtransaction engine may match the player in a gameplay session in which the particular weapon is highly effective, giving the player an impression that the particular weapon was a good purchase. This may encourage the player to make future purchases to achieve similar gameplay results.”

The patent also suggests that when in-game marketing and encouragement for purchases does not work, it could change tack and offer different in-game items to try and find something that the player might be interested in.

“[If the] first player did not purchase the in-game item, the player profile may be updated to reflect such non-purchase so that future targeted marketing of in-game items and other game-related purchases may be adjusted based on what has not been successful at enticing a given player to make a game-related purchase,” the patent said.

Exploitative money making tactics in game development are a hotbed of discussion in gaming at the moment. Loot chests and whether or not they constitute gambling are the latest talking point, but Activision’s proposed system is likely to draw its fair share of ire, too.

Activision has made a public statement to confirm that it has not implemented any of the described microtransaction systems into its games at this time. Bungie also confirmed that these systems are not used in Destiny 2.

Editors' Recommendations

Activision Blizzard plans mobile Warcraft, next Call of Duty
Warcraft 3 Reforged main character holds a hammer and stares at the camera.

Activision Blizzard plans to release a new Call of Duty game and mobile Warcraft game in 2022, according to a February 2022 financial results report.
As part of that report, the company went over what investors could expect from Activision, Blizzard, and King in 2022. Notably, a Warcraft game for mobile phones is officially teased for the first time: "Blizzard is planning substantial new content for the Warcraft franchise in 2022, including new experiences in World of Warcraft and Hearthstone, and getting all-new mobile Warcraft content into players’ hands for the first time."
We've yet to learn the title of this game or see it in action. It'll be the first Warcraft game released since the disappointing Warcraft 3: Reforged in 2020, and the second to hit iOS and Android, following Hearthstone. 
In the same report, Activision discussed Call of Duty in great detail. While the teased Call of Duty game is still untitled, this financial results report and a tweet from Infinity Ward heavily suggest that it's Modern Warfare 2. "Development on this year’s premium and Warzone experiences is being led by Activision’s renowned Infinity Ward studio," the results state. "The team is working on the most ambitious plan in franchise history, with industry-leading innovation and a broadly appealing franchise setting." Shortly afterward, Infinity Ward tweeted, "A new generation of Call of Duty is coming soon. Stay frosty."
https://twitter.com/InfinityWard/status/1489346822208249861
"Stay frosty" is an iconic line of John "Soap" MacTavish, a classic Modern Warfare character that was only teased in the 2019 reboot. Considering that 2019's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is widely regarded as the series' best game in recent memory, it's not a surprise that the Modern Warfare 2 rumors are true. A report from Bloomberg claims that this game will still release on PlayStation consoles, which makes sense as the Microsoft acquisition isn't expected to be complete until June 30, 2022.
Despite the acquisition being in progress, developers fighting to unionize, and the delay of Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV, this financial results report confirms that we can still expect new games from Activision Blizzard in 2022.

Read more
Unionization at Activision: Everything you need to know
Operator using the OTs SMG in Warzone.

Over the course of the last month or so, Quality Assurance (QA) staffers at Raven Software, a subsidiary of Activision, have begun fighting for their right to unionize. The move isn't the first of its kind in the gaming industry, but something like it has never been attempted by employees at such a large company. This movement started when a large group of QA contractors at Raven Software was suddenly laid off, but much more has transpired since then, including a multiweek strike, an industry-shaking acquisition, and the semiofficial formation of a union.

This is an evolving story, one that will play out over weeks and months. Here's everything that has happened as workers at Raven Software move to unionize.
Raven QA employees laid off
On December 3, 2021, Activision Blizzard laid off at least a dozen of its QA contractors. The move came suddenly for members of the team, some of whom had even moved to Wisconsin for their jobs. Overall, the layoffs left Raven Software's QA department with a third of its employees gone.

Read more
Blizzard is making a survival game in an all-new universe
A hunter crouches before footprints in Blizzard concept art.

Blizzard has shared the first details about an upcoming title -- and it's a brand-new IP. In a news post and accompanying tweet, Blizzard says that the title is "a survival game in an all-new universe."

The storied, but troubled developer called for job applicants to help "write the next chapter in Blizzard's story." The game will come to both PC and console, but few other details are available at this time. The blog post was primarily used to advertise open positions on the project, which include roles in art, design, and engineering.

Read more