Open-world games reduce stress and improve psychological well-being

A series of studies on players of open-world games revealed that they view these games as a way to temporarily escape from reality in their minds. This escape allows them to disconnect from real-world stressors, improving their mood and psychological well-being. The immersive and autonomous nature of these games is crucial for these observed effects. The paper was published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

Open-world games are video games that allow players to explore large, dynamic environments with minimal restrictions. They generally feature non-linear gameplay, meaning players can complete objectives in various orders or ignore them entirely. Many open-world games include side quests, hidden locations, and emergent gameplay elements. Players can interact with non-player characters, engage in combat, and customize their characters or equipment.

These games feature vast maps with diverse landscapes, such as cities, forests, mountains, and oceans. Some popular open-world games include Skyrim, Minecraft, and games from the Fallout, Grand Theft Auto, and The Witcher series, among many others. Many titles incorporate real-time weather systems, day-night cycles, and AI-driven events. Open-world games can be both single-player and multiplayer.

Study authors Ailin Anto and her colleagues sought to explore the significance of playing open-world games in the daily lives of students. They first conducted a qualitative study in which they interviewed 17 full-time university students who reported playing open-world games. In the interviews, the researchers asked participants to describe how open-world gaming affects their daily lives.

The second study was a survey involving 609 postgraduate university students who play open-world games. To verify that participants actually played the games they claimed, two research assistants asked them brief screening questions about the games they played. In the survey, participants were asked to think of the open-world game they played the most and then complete an assessment of their psychological well-being, as well as provide ratings on the extent to which open-world games contribute to their emotional relaxation (e.g., “Playing an open-world game makes me feel content,” “When I play an open-world game, I feel relaxed”).

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The third study again involved a series of interviews. The participants were 15 students who played open-world games and passed the screening questions. In these interviews, the researchers invited participants to share their thoughts about specific elements of open-world games that influenced their lives. The interviews were conducted at the university alumni lounge and a campus café, each lasting between 75 and 135 minutes. Participants received $30 for participating in the interviews and $8 for completing the survey (study 2).

Results from the first set of interviews showed that open-world games provide players with an opportunity to temporarily escape from the real world in their minds. In other words, these games facilitate cognitive escapism, which serves as an important source of relaxation and improves players’ moods.

The researchers used the survey data to test a statistical model proposing that cognitive escapism leads to relaxation, and that relaxation, in turn, improves psychological well-being. The results supported this proposed relationship.

The third study revealed that the key elements contributing to these positive effects of open-world games include the sense of exploration, opportunities to develop and experience mastery and skill, a sense of positivity, and a sense of purpose and meaning in life. In other words, playing open-world games satisfies fundamental psychological needs: autonomy (through exploration), competence (through the development of in-game skills), and relatedness (through forming connections with the game world and in-game characters).

“This study indicates that open-world games significantly contribute to cognitive escapism, relaxation, and overall well-being. Specifically, these games’ immersive environments and player autonomy play a crucial role in reducing stress and enhancing mental health. Open-world games could be used as therapeutic tools for stress and anxiety management, offering a cost-effective and accessible method to improve mental health,” the study authors concluded.

The study sheds light on the role open-world games play in players’ lives. However, it should be noted that all study data were self-reported, leaving room for reporting bias, which may have affected the results.

The paper, “Open-World Games’ Affordance of Cognitive Escapism, Relaxation, and Mental Well-Being Among Postgraduate Students: Mixed Methods Study,” was authored by Ailin Anto, Arunima Basu, Rania Selim, Thomas Foscht, and Andreas Benedikt Eisingerich.