Manipulating Player Behavior for Profit

A recent analysis by developer Ayoships has brought to light alleged manipulative tactics within the puzzle game Block Blast, developed by Hungry Games. Despite being free to download, the application reportedly generated a staggering $127 million in advertising revenue between January and May 2026. The findings suggest that the game employs sophisticated, hidden mechanisms to pressure players into watching advertisements.


Dynamic Difficulty and Player Valuation

According to the technical breakdown, the game does not adjust its difficulty levels based on the player’s actual skill. Instead, it allegedly tailors the experience based on the player's estimated commercial value to the developers. The game’s code reportedly scans various user data points to make these assessments, including:

  • Smartphone model and hardware specifications.
  • Geographical location.
  • History of interaction with previous advertisements.

By analyzing these factors, the system can estimate a user's purchasing power. For instance, owners of high-end, expensive devices or those living in regions with higher average incomes may be targeted differently to maximize potential returns.


The 'Boost then Kill' Strategy

One of the most concerning techniques identified is described as the "Boost then kill" method. This strategy involves:

«Making a game round artificially easy to build a player's confidence, followed by a sudden spike in difficulty that makes progress nearly impossible without external assistance.»

This forced frustration is intended to nudge players into watching a video advertisement in exchange for an extra life or another attempt to continue the game. The investigation also noted code segments labeled with terms such as "reward," "bait," and "moreCleanSuccessRound," suggesting a deliberate design to manipulate user perceptions of their own success and the value of ad-supported rewards.


Ethical Concerns in Free-to-Play Gaming

The situation highlights broader ethical questions regarding games that rely on ad-based monetization. While watching ads for rewards is a standard practice in the mobile gaming industry, the intentional engineering of frustration to drive revenue introduces significant transparency issues.

It is important to note that while Ayoships, himself an AI-powered app developer, provided this analysis, independent verification is required to determine the full scope of these mechanisms. The current findings do not clarify how frequently these adjustments occur or if they are applied uniformly to all users. Ultimately, these revelations underscore the fine line between standard game balancing and the use of 'dark patterns' that prioritize revenue over the player experience.