Despite the popularity of Free-to-Play (F2P) games in recent years, the motivations behind players’ intention to purchase virtual goods in F2P games still require further investigations. This study aims to address this dilemma by investigating the antecedents of functional, emotional, and social values in shaping the purchase intention of virtual goods in F2P games. Using purposive sampling, data were collected through a survey from 352 F2P game participants in the United States. A hybrid PLS-SEM-Artificial Neural Network (ANN) modeling approach was employed to examine the impact of these factors on the intention to purchase virtual goods. The results reveal that perceived value positively influences the purchase intention of virtual goods. The findings also show that functional, emotional, and social values significantly impact the perceived value and purchase intention of virtual goods. Further, perceived value mediates the relationship between quality, achievement, enjoyment, aesthetics, customization, self-presentation, and the intention to purchase virtual goods. The ANN results reveal that quality and social presence are the most critical factors since they achieve the greatest normalized importance ratio compared to the others. The model illustrated considerable explanatory evidence for purchase intention in the context of F2P games. Additionally, this research significantly strengthens the marketing literature by developing an understanding of the intention to buy virtual goods in F2P games. The proposed model can provide insights for F2P game providers to design their games and marketing strategies.

尽管近年来免费游戏（F2P）很受欢迎，但玩家在F2P游戏中购买虚拟物品的动机仍需要进一步调查。本研究旨在通过调查功能、情感和社会价值在塑造免费游戏中虚拟商品购买意图的因素来解决这一困境。使用有目的抽样，通过对美国 352 名免费游戏参与者的调查收集数据。采用混合 PLS-SEM-人工神经网络 (ANN) 建模方法来检查这些因素对购买虚拟商品意向的影响。结果表明，感知价值对虚拟商品的购买意愿有正向影响。研究结果还表明，功能性、情感性、社会价值观显着影响虚拟商品的感知价值和购买意愿。此外，感知价值调节质量、成就、享受、美学、定制、自我呈现和购买虚拟商品的意图之间的关系。人工神经网络的结果表明，质量和社会存在感是最关键的因素，因为与其他因素相比，它们实现了最大的标准化重要性比。该模型为免费游戏中的购买意愿提供了大量的解释证据。此外，这项研究通过加深对免费游戏中购买虚拟商品的意图的理解，显着强化了营销文献。所提出的模型可以为免费游戏提供商设计游戏和营销策略提供见解。