Can you imagine playing a game where you’re never quite sure whether or not the game is intentionally pitting you against more skilled enemies to better advertise spending real money on more powerful weaponry? Activision can, they patented it.
Discovered by Rolling Stone, the patent relates to matchmaking systems and driving microtransactions in said games. There is no concrete proof that this system has been used in any existing Activision title. The patent offers way to use matchmaking in order to drive microtransaction purposes, by specifically pairing players who own DLC items with those who do not, with the goal of exposing said items to potential new customers.
One example of this implementation involves matching a low skill player with a high skill player who happens to own a cash shop weapon in order to encourage the lower skill player to buy said item. Say for instance if the system determines that a player is trying to become an expert sniper, as the patent describes. He could be placed in the match with a higher skilled sniper who also owns some sniper DLC weapons and maybe that player will buy some weapons of their own.
“The system may include a microtransaction arrange matches to influence game-related purchases. For instance, the system may match a more expert/marquee player with a junior player to encourage the junior player to make game-related purchases of items possessed/used by the marquee player. A junior player may wish to emulate the marquee player by obtaining weapons or other items used by the marquee player.”
Another implementation would have players with a microtransaction item that is currently on sale be paired with players who do not own such item, in order to promote said sale.
Microtransaction engine 128 may analyze various items used by marquee players and, if at least one of the items is currently being offered for sale (with or without a promotion), match the marquee player with another player (e.g., a junior player) that does not use or own the item. Similarly, microtransaction engine 128 may identify items offered for sale, identify marquee players that use or possess those items, and match the marquee players with other players who do not use or possess those items. In this manner, microtransaction engine 128 may leverage the matchmaking abilities described herein to influence purchase decisions for game-related purchases.
The system isn’t all about making more money, though. Other implementations of the patent involve matchmaking in regards to matching players up with friends/clans, placing emphasis on players who spend a long time in matchmaking, and matching performance based on skill in a more accurate way. In another example, the system can determine a player’s preferred game mode and steer them toward those servers in matchmaking.
Activision has denied in a statement that this patent has been put to use in any of its games, claiming that it “was an exploratory patent filed in 2015 by an R&D team working independently from our game studios.”
You can read the entire patent here,
(Our thoughts: Let’s go on a limb here and take Activision’s statement as fact that this has never been implemented. They’ve painted a target on their backs of a company willing, and now capable, of secretly putting such a system in their games.)
MMO Fallout 