The project will see the organisations collaborate on educational resources around “the financial and psychological harms” related to loot boxes and video game monetisation.
Dr Helen Lloyd and Dr James Close, members of the University of Plymouth’s School of Psychology, will work with YGAM to translate their knowledge into teaching and “interventional materials” for at-risk groups. These include children, young people and those with special educational needs and disabilities.
Alongside resources for schools, “tailored educational approaches for specialist service providers” will also be developed through a series of engagement and planning workshops.
“We are grateful to the University of Plymouth for funding us to work with YGAM and providers of services for vulnerable adults and children in the South West,” said Lloyd.
“Working in partnership with our wider stakeholders to use research-generated knowledge helps us support the important work that they do, but also makes research relevant and timely.
“Working in this way we can tackle some of our most pressing societal issues whilst also creating local benefit.”
Loot boxes are items purchasable in many video games that, when opened, offer players a random reward, or loot. But in recent years, they have proven controversial.
Since their outcome is based on chance, many critics have drawn comparisons between loot boxes and gambling, leading several jurisdictions to introduce legislation on loot boxes, including the Netherlands, China and Australia.
However, Britain’s Gambling Act, currently under review, does not cover loot boxes, though the Gambling Commission, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and a House of Lords report have all raised concerns regarding their categorisation.
