Summary
Two of the fifteen lawsuits targeting major video game companies, which accused them of intentionally addicting players, were dismissed by the plaintiffs following a brief legal dispute. In recent years, concerns over “Internet Gaming Disorder,” or video game addiction, have surged among parents and healthcare professionals regarding its effects on players’ mental and physical health. Now, multiple plaintiffs from ten different districts are suing 26 major video game companies, includingActivision, to hold them accountable for their game addiction. However, the outlook for claimants appears grim, as some cases have already been dropped.
The first lawsuit of this kind was filed in November 2023, when anArkansas family sued several video game companies over video game addiction. The case argued that these companies used strategies like incentivizing extended playtime for progression and employing artificial intelligence to offer enticing in-game rewards to keep them engaged and hooked. However, as of now, no similar lawsuit has successfully held the defendants accountable.
A new wave of complaints against video game companies, including Activision Blizzard, Roblox, Microsoft, and Nintendo, began gaining attention this past June, sparking discussions about a potential centralized class action lawsuit, months before the industry saw the news ofNintendo’s lawsuit againstPalworld’s developer. However, according toThe Lawsuit Information Center, a few of these lawsuits were dropped after the defendants filed several motions to dismiss.
List of Companies Involved in the Video Game Addiction Lawsuit
The attorneys requested the court dismiss the case for several reasons:
Whenexamining the lawsuits accusing major video game companiesof deliberately manipulating their customers, it seems that plaintiffs will face significant challenges in proving the companies guilty. Defending video games, Thane Rosenbaum, a Distinguished Professor at Touro University, said, “Let’s not confuse video games with cigarettes; there’s no substance being added. The worst you can say about [video games] is that they don’t warn you that your kid might love [them] so much that you can’t get them down for dinner.”
Let’s not confuse video games with cigarettes; there’s no substance being added.
However, withthe EU pledging to address video game addiction, it’s likely that major companies will become more cautious with their marketing strategies and gamification techniques designed to keep players engaged in the future. Early signs of such a shift in the industry were evident when Blizzard removed loot box mechanics fromOverwatch 2, replacing the progression reward system with a Battle Pass model.
