The business models of video games have been undergoing constant change. The traditional sale of a game has often given way to a commercialization model in which profit and product profitability are ensured throughout the gaming experience. In this context, microtransactions and advertising have become increasingly important from the video game publisher’s perspective. Microtransactions thus become an ever more constant and present possibility in a player’s context (McCaffrey, 2019). Loot boxes, or reward boxes, are one form of in-game purchase that has been the subject of growing debate. These are boxes that can be opened and obtained either through gameplay or through monetary purchase. They may provide items that serve purely aesthetic and cosmetic functions, but they may also offer advantages to the players who possess them. A crucial aspect to consider regarding loot boxes is their frequently random nature. It is precisely this randomness that makes them resemble gambling, which has been the subject of several scientific investigations, particularly concerning their relationship with other non-chemical forms of addiction such as gaming and gambling (Drummond et al., 2020; Spicer et al., 2022).

The analysis of revenues from various video games involving loot boxes seems to point to the existence of a small number of players who account for most of these revenues. These are the so-called whales, a specific player profile that appears to lack control over purchasing behavior and to develop addictive-type behaviors in this area (Close et al., 2021).

Following the idea of the social appropriation of new technologies, developed among others by Castells (2012), we are also interested in understanding how, among university students, perceptions and practices emerge regarding decision-making processes, the lived experience of games, and decisions to engage in microtransactions and the purchase of loot boxes, as well as examining perceptions of these practices among peers.

This project aims to understand these practices both in oneself and in others, the perception of risk, and notions of what is considered appropriate or inappropriate regarding video game management—particularly in relation to the healthy or less healthy relationships established with other dimensions of life, such as academic, family, and even affective domains.

We recently conducted a study (Veiga et al., 2025) on experiences in digital worlds among higher education students. In that study, focus group discussions were used, and in some of these groups the issue of video game addiction and even uncontrolled acquisition of loot boxes emerged. Thus, we intend to use a similar methodological approach, capable of enabling the exploration of practices and perceptions that are initially unknown. The overlap between video games and behaviors similar to gambling appears to constitute an area that is still under-researched and largely unknown in the national context (Tinoco et al., 2024).

Attendance in higher education represents a moment in young people’s lives marked by various changes. It is not only adolescence that comes to an end; adulthood begins, along with the acquisition of a set of competencies and knowledge that prepare young people for professional life. In any case, higher education represents a transitional phase toward full adulthood, in which time structuring is less demanding or predictable. There is free time and the possibility of flexibility and/or missing commitments (e.g., classes), something that later, in professional life, does not occur. The playful dimension, in which roles are tested and affective discoveries are made, includes the issue of video games, which we seek to explore further in this project (Couceiro et al., 2022; Pinto & Leite, 2020; Veiga & Lopes, 2020).

Accordingly, we intend to conduct between two and four Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), in which we will specifically explore the choices and options made regarding video games and in-game purchases; which practices are considered acceptable or not; how choices are managed; and what types of more obscure behaviors may be observed or known to participants.

It is considered that a qualitative methodology allows for the identification and systematization of certain practices and perceptions that are in constant transformation, as more technological tools become widely available and at a time when there is discussion about the introduction of potentialities inherent to Artificial Intelligence in the video game experience.