Comparing motives for cosmetic microtransactions using the CMTX-Q – The cosmetic microtransactions questionnaire

A popular way to monetize online games is through microtransactions, which are used to buy virtual goods with real money. This way, revenue is generated without the need for a retail price or subscription model, but through supposedly small payments generated by microtransactions. These microtransactions can be used to purchase game time, competitive advantages, or purely cosmetic items. The latter, so-called cosmetic microtransactions (CMTX), only bring about a visual change to the virtual characters and objects in the game and are not required to play, compete, or succeed in the game. The present study introduces a questionnaire on the motives for cosmetic microtransactions (CMTX-Q) that is refined based on factor analytical results obtained from two samples in two separate studies. The questionnaire is designed as a research tool to examine this phenomenon and elucidate why players purchase cosmetics using microtransactions. The CMTX-Q is then used to compare the importance of different motives for cosmetic microtransactions within and across different games. We observed a higher importance of status and investment motives and a lower importance of benevolence motives for Counter Strike: Global Offensive players compared to League of Legends players. • Cosmetic microtransactions are used to sell non-functional virtual items in video games and generate huge profits • Players’ motives for using cosmetic microtransactions are still unclear and necessitate a new assessment tool • A game- and platform-independent questionnaire was developed based on the Theory of Consumption Values • Nine motives revealed: Community, Entertainment, Status, Functional, Purchase, Identity, Reward, Investment, Benevolence • The questionnaire was successfully applied to distinguish between the motives of different games