Enlarge / Want to ave a cool sniper rifle like your Call of Duty partner? Authorize a charge of $4.99 RIGHT NOW! In a US patent filed in 2015 and approved yesterday, Activision outlines an online matchmaking system designed to "drive microtransactions in multiplayer video games" and "influence game-related purchases." Patent #9789406, for a "System and method for driving microtransactions in multiplayer video games," describes a number of matchmaking algorithms that a game could use to encourage players to purchase additional in-game items.