Why Players Are Tiring of Reward Systems That Never Let Them Finish

Back in the early days of gaming, every new release was a fundamentally finite experience, and replayability didn’t really factor into the design process. Developers and publishers expected to make their money from the sale and rental of physical cartridges and disks, and would need to work on the next project to keep revenues rolling in the long term.

That’s all changed in the past couple of decades, with the dawn of subscription-driven online games and live service games that are free-to-play on the surface but use microtransactions and content drops to make money completely upending the industry’s main business model. 

Whatever you think of the state of play from a financial perspective, you can’t ignore the fact that it also has repercussions on how games are structured and how they reward players. We’ve reached a point where reward systems are built around keeping players in an infinite progression loop with no clear endpoint, all with a view to emphasizing engagement above all else. A lot of players are getting sick of these systems, so here’s an exploration of why their frustration is building.

No End, No Satisfaction

We’re wired to enjoy stories that follow a pattern, with a beginning, middle, and end providing ultimate satisfaction. If any part of this basic formula is missing, it can sour the experience, and that’s certainly true of games built around infinite reward loops.

Of course, not all games need a definite end, and that’s especially true if they’re not narrative-based. Take a card game like Hearthstone, where there’s plenty of narrative flavor knocking around, but the experience itself is built around PvP face-offs that are self-contained in their own right, and so an unending series of rewards makes sense. Likewise, games of chance like those available at a casino for Canada online are naturally suited to rolling rewards.

It’s more of a problem for the likes of MMOs and even some FPS games, where the story is a little more involved, and if it doesn’t build to a definite crescendo, looping rewards will feel like a hollow achievement.

Incentivizing the Grind

Many perpetual reward mechanics rely on time-gated content, daily log-in streaks, and limited-time seasonal tracks. This design taps heavily into the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). Games start feeling like a second job with checklist-style chores rather than a voluntary recreational activity.

Likewise, the artificial urgency of this approach makes gameplay a slog, because if a player takes a break, they’ll forfeit rewards they’ve already paid for, particularly with battle passes.

Removing Value from Real Rewards

The last problem with infinite loop reward systems is that they necessarily dilute the impact of each reward provided, because there’s an endless supply of them. Players simply won’t value rewards as much if they know another is waiting just around the corner. And there are only so many different types of reward that can be created, meaning high-quality rewards are few and far between.

In response to this exhaustion, many players are gravitating toward single-player, finite experiences or multiplayer games with non-expiring progression systems. It’s likely why games like Elden Ring exploded in the way they did, and developers need to heed this disgruntlement or risk alienating a big chunk of their audience.