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- Title
Excessive Spending in a "Free-to-Play" Smartphone Game.
- Authors
Kleinman, Robert A.; Das, Smita
- Abstract
<bold>Background and Objectives: </bold>Although gaming disorder is increasingly recognized, there has been limited consideration of the impact of free-to-play games with in-game purchases, also called microtransactions.<bold>Methods: </bold>Case report (n = 1).<bold>Results: </bold>A patient with posttraumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder in remission, polysubstance use disorders in remission, and opioid use disorder on buprenorphine/naloxone developed gaming disorder (based on International Classification of Diseases, 11th revision) and spent up to 40% of his monthly income on microtransactions within a smartphone game. Treatment consisted of relinquishing access to electronic payment mechanisms, motivational interviewing, and couples therapy.<bold>Discussion and Conclusions: </bold>The case highlights how in-game purchases may cause patients with gaming disorder to experience financial consequences, and the need for further characterization of the clinical ramifications of microtransactions.<bold>Scientific Significance: </bold>To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in the medical literature of a patient with gaming disorder developing excessive in-game spending from expenditures on microtransactions. (Am J Addict 2020;29:528-530).
- Subjects
UNITED States; OPIOID abuse; MOTIVATIONAL interviewing; COUPLES therapy; POST-traumatic stress disorder; MENTAL depression; COMPULSIVE behavior; VIDEO games &; psychology; TREATMENT of post-traumatic stress disorder; RESEARCH; MOBILE apps; RESEARCH methodology; MEDICAL cooperation; EVALUATION research; COMPARATIVE studies; RESEARCH funding; VIDEO games; VETERANS
- Publication
American Journal on Addictions, 2020, Vol 29, Issue 6, p528
- ISSN
1055-0496
- Publication type
case study
- DOI
10.1111/ajad.13049