{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/engagement-retention--family-19","type":"mechanic","id":"engagement-retention--family-19","lang":"en","title":"Repeat spending patterns","summary":"Subscriptions, currency purchases or consumables create repeat spending. Players need clear prices, billing intervals and cancellation terms.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/engagement-retention--family-19/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/engagement-retention--family-19.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/engagement-retention--family-19.md","aliases":["Recurring spending mechanics"],"tags":["Engagement, retention and addictive patterns","Mechanics catalog"],"sourceIds":["source-fe20be25686013cd","source-38db45754d75dfcb"],"sources":[{"id":"source-fe20be25686013cd","title":"Petrovskaya and Zendle","url":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-021-04970-6","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-38db45754d75dfcb","title":"Duolingo","url":"https://www.duolingo.com/super","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Selling boosts, convenience restrictions, opaque currency, and buying pressure are described in a study of problematic monetization from a player's perspective. It categorizes their complaints and experiences, but does not prove that each method is addictive. Petrovskaya and Zendle."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants and applications\n\n<a id=\"family-19-variants\"></a>\n\n- Paid random rewards: buy an attempt, not a guaranteed desired item <a id=\"variant-engagement-retention-19-01\"></a>\n- Multiple currencies and exchange rates: it becomes more difficult to estimate expenses in regular money <a id=\"variant-engagement-retention-19-02\"></a>\n- Mismatch between the sizes of currency packages and prices: the balance pushes for the next replenishment <a id=\"variant-engagement-retention-19-03\"></a>\n- Chains of sequential offers: acquisition opens the next stage of purchase <a id=\"variant-engagement-retention-19-04\"></a>\n- Increasing bonuses for accumulated spending: the amount spent becomes a separate progress bar <a id=\"variant-engagement-retention-19-05\"></a>\n- Daily Receipt Subscription: Purchase creates an obligation to check in regularly <a id=\"variant-engagement-retention-19-06\"></a>\n- Refund of the cost of the pass upon complete completion: completion of the season becomes a condition for receiving currency for the next <a id=\"variant-engagement-retention-19-07\"></a>\n- Paid restoration of lost progress: after missing a deadline, you are offered to buy the missing progress <a id=\"variant-engagement-retention-19-08\"></a>"},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"A map of 160 techniques for analyzing interest, returns, costs and pressure on the player. Involvement in itself does not mean dependence; the presence of separate mechanics does not determine the diagnosis or prove causation. This is the author's classification for critical analysis of design, and not a scientifically established list of the causes of gaming disorder. Assess context, audience, voluntariness of participation, and opportunity to stop."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"engagement-retention","id":"family-19","title":"Engagement, retention and addictive patterns","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/engagement-retention/#family-19","categoryIds":["section-1"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Recurring spending mechanics","description":"Subscriptions, currency purchases or consumables create repeat spending. Players need clear prices, billing intervals and cancellation terms.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/learning-duolingo-super-billing.webp","width":1280,"height":720,"crop":{"x":35,"y":255,"width":1190,"height":350},"game":"Duolingo","sourceUrl":"https://www.duolingo.com/super","originalUrl":"https://www.duolingo.com/super","credit":"Duolingo; public website capture, 2026-10-22","rights":"© Duolingo. Signed-out public subscription page captured without starting a trial or signing in, 2026-10-22. All rights reserved; excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"Duolingo: a trial timeline specifying when payment is charged","alt":"Duolingo: a trial timeline specifying when payment is charged","markers":[{"x":70,"y":76,"label":"Day 7: payment charge and cancellation condition"}]},"tips":["Disclose the price after a trial before it starts."],"examples":[{"title":"Duolingo","url":"https://www.duolingo.com/super"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original editorial design catalog consolidated from project discussions on 2026-10-20. Complete discussion item lists and contextual limitations are preserved; linked primary sources support specific techniques, not the entire classification. English translation was prepared with machine assistance and editorial review.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/engagement-retention"}}