The Hidden Intricacy of Loot Box Design: A Granular Description of Random Monetized Reward Features

The document argues that loot boxes are not a uniform game mechanic but a family of design variants whose features differ widely, and that prior research has studied only arbitrary subsets of these features. To address this, it proposes the Loot Box Features (LoBoF) v0.1 taxonomy, a provisional and admittedly subjective framework of 32 features spanning six domains. The taxonomy was built through qualitative coding of 141 games across Steam, iOS, and Android, supplemented by author expertise and feedback from an industry professional. Its stated purpose is to guide future empirical work on how specific design choices influence player spending and behavior.

The taxonomy's feature descriptions cover mechanisms such as odd-pricing currency conversion, duplicate handling, pity systems, rarity-power relationships, and near-miss presentation, which the authors link to increased spending, persistence, and loss-aversion-driven purchasing based on evidence from gambling studies and behavioral economics. Additional features address social and economic dimensions, including tradable contents, developer-sanctioned open markets, and viewable openings, which can make loot boxes resemble gambling. Comparisons between Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Another Eden illustrate how widely games can differ across nearly every feature, underscoring the complexity of the design space.

The authors conclude that this intricacy complicates both regulation and consumer decision-making, and that feature-level effects on players remain insufficiently studied. They call for higher-quality research comparing loot box types and for greater collaboration between researchers and industry to enable it. Supplementary feature descriptions, source game data, and taxonomy development details are made available on the Open Science Framework, along with a bibliography of roughly 80 references on gambling psychology, regulation, and loot box prevalence and harms.