Understanding Consumer Harm in Online Multiplayer Video Games

This research aims to understand consumer harm experienced by gamers in online multiplayer video games. Consumer harm (or Consumer Detriment) means any loss, damage, or negative impact experienced by a consumer due to the design decisions made by a company to influence consumer decision making. This includes financial loss, psychological distress, negative impacts on mental wellbeing, and consumers being pushed to make decisions that they do not want to make or otherwise would not make.

There are concerns among legislators that elements of video games may cause consumer harm to players.

Many countries have tried to regulate loot boxes (a video game mechanic where in exchange for real-world money, players receive a randomised in-game reward of uncertain value). Current regulation relies on the assumption that there is a simple, clear-cut relationship between individual problematic game mechanics and the consumer harm players are experiencing and that therefore, removing the mechanic will eradicate the harm.

However, it is unknown whether the harms experienced in video games are specifically linked and solely attributable to problematic mechanics or whether they stem from a nexus of harm created by the immersive video game environment.

There is little research into the impact of these harms or how to identify those most likely to be negatively affected by them.

Regulating an individual game mechanic stops that mechanic appearing in games but without a better understanding of the consumer harm experienced by players, it is impossible to know whether regulating an individual game mechanic will successfully reduce the harm it sought to address.

Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand what constitutes consumer harm in video games.

This thesis will answer the following questions:

1. What harms do gamers experience in online multiplayer video games? Who are the people most affected?
2. What methods can be used to measure the intensity of these harms?
3. How can a better understanding of video game harm be used to protect consumers?

This research will answer these questions through a qualitative methodology that draws on the lived experience of consumers.

It is important that gamers are involved in the research process and contribute to the process of understanding gaming harm because any attempt to understand consumer harm should be informed by the individuals experiencing that harm. Through user-centric HCI methods such as participatory design, input from both harmed and non-harmed gamers will be incorporated into this PhD.

The research findings will be used to formulate a new conceptualisation of consumer harm in video games that better captures gamers' lived experiences as well as psychological understandings of harm.

This work will amplify the voices of harmed gamers, help develop a more complete understanding of the consumer harm experienced in video games, and contribute to the ongoing discussions about how to ensure effective consumer protection in video games. This research may also have an impact on wider understandings of consumer harm particularly in relation to immersive, digital mediums such as social media platforms and the Metaverse.

We will collaborate with over 40 partners drawn from across FMCG and Food; Creative Industries; Health and Wellbeing; Smart Mobility; Finance; Enabling technologies; and Policy, Law and Society. These will benefit from engagement with our CDT through the following established mechanisms:

- Training multi-disciplinary leaders. Our partners will benefit from being able to recruit highly skilled individuals who are able to work across technologies, methods and sectors and in multi-disciplinary teams. We will deliver at least 65 skilled PhD graduates into the Digital Economy.

- Internships. Each Horizon student undertakes at least one industry internship or exchange at an external partner. These internships have a benefit to the student in developing their appreciation of the relevance of their PhD to the external societal and industrial context, and have a benefit to the external partner through engagement with our students and their multidisciplinary skill sets combined with an ability to help innovate new ideas and approaches with minimal long-term risk. Internships are a compulsory part of our programme, taking place in the summer of the first year. We will deliver at least 65 internships with partners.

- Industry-led challenge projects. Each student participates in an industry-led group project in their second year. Our partners benefit from being able to commission focused research projects to help them answer a challenge that they could not normally fund from their core resources. We will deliver at least 15 such projects (3 a year) throughout the lifetime of the CDT.

- Industry-relevant PhD projects. Each student delivers a PhD thesis project in collaboration with at least one external partner who benefits from being able to engage in longer-term and deeper research that they would not normally be able to undertake, especially for those who do not have their own dedicated R&D labs. We will deliver at least 65 such PhDs over the lifetime of this CDT renewal.

- Public engagement. All students receive training in public engagement and learn to communicate their findings through press releases, media coverage.

This proposal introduces two new impact channels in order to further the impact of our students' work and help widen our network of partners.

- The Horizon Impact Fund. Final year students can apply for support to undertake short impact projects. This benefits industry partners, public and third sector partners, academic partners and the wider public benefit from targeted activities that deepen the impact of individual students' PhD work. This will support activities such as developing plans for spin-outs and commercialization; establishing an IP position; preparing and documenting open-source software or datasets; and developing tourable public experiences.

- ORBIT as an impact partner for RRI. Students will embed findings and methods for Responsible Research Innovation into the national training programme that is delivered by ORBIT, the Observatory for Responsible Research and Innovation in ICT (www.orbit-rri.org). Through our direct partnership with ORBIT all Horizon CDT students will be encouraged to write up their experience of RRI as contributions to ORBIT so as to ensure that their PhD research will not only gain visibility but also inform future RRI training and education. PhD projects that are predominantly in the area of RRI are expected to contribute to new training modules, online tools or other ORBIT services.