Predicting Online Gaming Behaviour Using Machine Learning Techniques

Abstract

Understanding player behaviour in online gaming is essential for enhancing user engagement and retention. This study utilizes a dataset from Kaggle, capturing a wide range of player demographics and in-game metrics to predict player engagement levels categorized as 'High,' 'Medium,' or 'Low.' The dataset includes features such as age, gender, location, game genre, playtime, in-game purchases, game difficulty, session frequency, session duration, player level, and achievements. The research employs a Gaussian Naive Bayes model, with data pre-processing steps including feature selection, categorical data encoding, and scaling of numerical features. The dataset is split into training (80%) and testing (20%) sets, and a 5-fold cross-validation is used to ensure model robustness. The model's performance is evaluated using accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score. The results show consistent performance across different folds, with an average accuracy of 84.27%, precision of 85.59%, recall of 84.27%, and F1-score of 83.98%. These findings indicate that the Gaussian Naive Bayes model can reliably predict player engagement levels, identifying significant predictors such as session frequency and in-game purchases. The study contributes to game analytics by providing a predictive model that can help game developers and marketers design more engaging gaming experiences. Future research should incorporate a broader range of features, including psychological and social factors, and explore other machine learning algorithms to enhance predictive accuracy. This study's insights are valuable for developing strategies to improve player retention and satisfaction in the gaming industry.