The freemium business model, initially popular in mobile gaming, has gained significant traction in the PC gaming arena during the last few years. This study explores the increasing prevalence of freemium models, i.e., free-to-play games with in-game monetization, in PC games and investigates how players' perceived value plays a crucial role in determining the appeal of these games. The research focuses on examining how players' perceived value influences the appeal of freemium PC games, concentrating on continued use intention (retention) and in-game purchases (monetization). The paper introduces a modified PERVAL framework, drawing inspiration from Hamari (2020), which includes four dimensions: emotional value, social value, economic value, and enjoyment. Through surveys and data analysis, the study uncovers insightful findings. It reveals that emotional and social values play a positive role in shaping players' intentions to keep playing and invest in in-game purchases. While economic value is linked to playing intentions, it doesn't directly impact the purchase of premium content. Moreover, enjoyment is positively associated with playing intentions but exhibits a negative relationship with the acquisition of in-game items. The study underscores the importance of perceived value, particularly emotional value, in influencing player engagement and generating revenue in the context of freemium PC games.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:su-227897 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Campos de Moraes, Rafael |
| Publisher | Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för data- och systemvetenskap |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
Page generated in 0.0015 seconds