Could just knowing that a newer version of a product is on the way make users like the current version less? A recent study suggests that’s possible, and that this dissatisfaction could damage a company’s brand.

In a series of three experiments, researchers found that participants overall were more critical of a videogame, a virtual-reality program and an immersive 360-degree video if they were told that an updated, better version was being developed. The experiments also found that participants enjoyed the products less and...

Could just knowing that a newer version of a product is on the way make users like the current version less? A recent study suggests that’s possible, and that this dissatisfaction could damage a company’s brand.

In a series of three experiments, researchers found that participants overall were more critical of a videogame, a virtual-reality program and an immersive 360-degree video if they were told that an updated, better version was being developed. The experiments also found that participants enjoyed the products less and were more likely to quit using them if they knew an update was in the works.

“Once you design a new and improved version of your product, you might have a strong urge to advertise it right away,” says Ed O’Brien, an associate professor at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and author of a paper on the research published in August in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science. “You might think that letting your customers know about this future release as soon as possible is in your best interest for driving up interest and anticipation.”

However, he says, this strategy can backfire. Advertising a future release months in advance may lead a company’s current customers “to dislike the brand overall and move to someone else,” Prof. O’Brien says.

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In one experiment, participants who were told a newer version of a videogame was in the pipeline tended to find more technical bugs in the version they were given. On a scale of 1 to 7, from least buggy to most, respectively, their composite score was 4.36, compared with a 3.84 score for participants not told about a forthcoming version. Participants who were told a new game was forthcoming also rated their enjoyment of the game lower overall than those who knew nothing of a new version, 5.08 to 5.42.

In another experiment, participants took a 360-degree immersive tour of Salvador, Brazil. Afterward, the researchers said the subjects could use all or a portion of the $2 they were paid to participate in the experiment to try to skip taking another immersive tour in the same session. Subjects with the highest bid, the researchers said, would be able to leave the experiment early.

Participants who were told an improved version of the tour was in the works were more likely to try to skip the rest of the experiment. About 3.6% of participants who were told a better version was being developed chose to bid their entire paycheck on leaving the experiment, compared with 0.8% of participants who weren’t told about a new version. About 55% of the group not told about an update chose to keep all the money and do the second tour, compared with about 52% of the group told about a newer version.

A third experiment suggested one way dissatisfaction could be tempered. It found that reminding participants about how much the technology behind a product had evolved made them appreciate it more. Participants used virtual-reality headsets and a videogame gun. They were divided into three groups: One had no knowledge of an update, a second was told about an updated version in the works, and a third was told about a coming newer version but was also shown Atari’s 1978 Space Invaders game and asked to reflect on the evolution of shooter games.

Participants who reflected on how far such games had come enjoyed the game in the experiment more than the other groups, ranking it 5.21 on a seven-point scale, compared with 4.96 for those who knew only about the current version and 4.61 for those who were told about the newer version but weren’t asked to consider the technology’s evolution.

“Putting the new version in a greater context helped to mitigate some of the effect,” says Prof. O’Brien.

Ms. Ward is a writer in Vermont. She can be reached at reports@wsj.com.