FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)

Anxiety driven by the possibility of missing a time-limited opportunity, a powerful and frequently exploited psychological driver in live service games.

In games, this means

Battle pass expiry timers, limited-time skins, seasonal events with exclusive rewards, all designed to trigger FOMO. Ethically, scarcity can create genuine excitement and community moments. Unethically, artificial scarcity manipulates players into purchases they would not otherwise make under calm consideration.