Patented Proof That Activision Wants To Trick Players Into Buying Loot Boxes

Microtransaction has become a central topic of heated debate within the video game community of late. On one side are gamers who are furious at video game companies milking their customers for as much money as they can get via loot boxes and in-game items even after they have already paid the full price for the game. Now, Activision has just provided proof that it wants to trick players into paying for microtransactions by filing a patent involving technology intended for this purpose.

In a recent Rolling Stone report, it was revealed that the publisher behind the Call of Duty and Destiny franchises has just been granted a patent that is meant to employ technical trickery in order to sell microtransactions. The technology is mostly applicable to multiplayer games, where in-game items like loot boxes are most prominently concentrated.

When asked about the patent, however, Activision claims that the technology is not in play with any of the games that are currently in the market. Bungie, the development studio behind Destiny also assured the publication that Destiny 2 is not using the technology.

"This was an exploratory patent filed in 2015 by an R&D team working independently from our game studios," a spokesperson for Activision said. "It has not been implemented in-game."

It’s worth noting the wording used by the spokesperson here. The technology not being implemented in the games that are out right now means nothing. It could just as well indicate that it could be used in the future for existing games or future titles.

As to how the technology is even going to trick players into buying crates or loot boxes, it seems that the trick is in the matchmaking, Gamasutra notes. Basically, the technology will match players in such a way that they won’t have a choice but to purchase microtransactions in order to win.