How Retention-Oriented Monetization Systems Shape Game Design and Player Experience in Live-Service Games

Sammanfattning

This thesis investigates how retention-oriented monetization systems shape game design and player experience in live-service games, focusing on Fortnite (Epic Games, 2017), Genshin Impact (HoYoverse, 2020), and Valorant (Riot Games, 2020). As seasonal battle passes, gacha mechanics, and time-gated progression structures have become standard features of live-service design, the relationship between their commercial function and their experiential consequences for players remains underexplored. The thesis follows a kappa format, pairing two individual papers that examine the same systems from complementary directions: one analyzing how retention mechanics function as mechanisms for player retention and recurring revenue generation, the other analyzing how those same mechanics influence perceived immersion and autonomy in play. Both papers draw on formal system analysis of all three games, and a shared open-ended player survey completed by 38 respondents. Results show that retention-oriented systems function as habit-forming structures that sustain commercial engagement without necessarily sustaining player satisfaction, with fear of missing out identified as a mechanism that maintains engagement even when players describe their experience as negative. Findings further indicate that player tolerance of commercial design is conditional rather than fixed: the primary moderating factor between awareness of commercial intent and actual experiential distress is the perceived value of the exchange the system presents. Players across both game samples accepted retention mechanics as a legitimate feature of free-to-play design when rewards were commensurate with demands; disruption and obligation emerged when that balance was perceived to be absent. These findings carry specific implications for live-service game design and for research on the relationship between monetization structures and player well-being.