Real-world demotivation as a predictor of continued video game playing: A study on escapism, anxiety and lack of intrinsic motivation

Abstract

• We examined how frustration types impact online gamer loyalty. • Frustration types motivate game escapism, which fuels online gamer loyalty. • Anxiety weakens the impact of autonomy frustration, but strengthens the impact of competence frustration on escapism. Past research has identified some positive impacts of game escapism, but has not explored what drives gamers to escape into games. Research filling this gap will provide game makers with knowledge on ways to attract gamers and foster continued playing intention, motivating our study. We theorize how types of real-world frustration—namely autonomy frustration, competence frustration, and relatedness frustration—drive game escapism, fostering continued playing intention. We collected responses from 1785 online gamers to empirically test our research model. We found that only autonomy frustration and competence frustration are related to game escapism and further to continued playing intention. Game escapism is a mediator in the link between real-world frustration and continued playing intention. Gamer anxiety positively moderates the link between competence frustration and game escapism, but negatively moderates the link between autonomy frustration and game escapism. Our model contributes to the video game literature by identifying those who are likely to engage in game escapism. Our model explained 40% of continued playing intention, indicating the practical significance of identifying a target audience and fostering their continued playing intention.