FoMO versus Churn : estratégias de engajamento e retenção de jogadores observadas no jogo-serviço Destiny 2

Abstract

In the last decade, the electronic games market has transformed, shifting from a consumption model based on a single acquisition to one focused on continuous services known as "games-as-a-service." This change, driven by increasingly larger development budgets and the pursuit of stable revenues, has resulted in fewer new franchises and a priority on retaining the existing player base in ongoing titles. This work investigates how this retention effort manifests in the visual and interactive components of games-as-a-service, focusing on Destiny 2 (BUNGIE, 2017) as a case study. The research contextualizes the emergence of games-as-a-service within the phenomenon of platform capitalism, in which the collection and processing of player data has become crucial. Key concepts such as churn (game abandonment), FoMO (Fear of Missing Out), and serialization are explored to demonstrate how game developers seek to create mechanics and limited-time content structures, such as reward passes and the Destiny Content Vault (DCV), to encourage continuous gameplay and monetization. The qualitative methodology employed, grounded in Rapp's (2022) work on game design and temporal engagement, included the collection and analysis of screenshots of Destiny 2's user interface and the Bungie website. The sequential analysis of game screens, from the introduction of new users to use by veterans, revealed how Destiny 2 operates as a complex system designed to maximize retention, utilizing notifications, visual markers, and cyclical progression dynamics to keep the player engaged and an active consumer.