Caught them all: Gaming disorder, motivations for playing and spending among core Pokémon Go players

Pokémon Go (2016) not only enjoys tremendous worldwide appeal among players, the game has also captivated the scientific community. The aim of this study was to examine the characteristics and motivations of hardcore Pokémon Go players by analyzing self-reported data from 1630 trainers of level 25 and higher. There were more female players in our sample, yet males played more and showed more progress in the game. In general, the need for in-game relatedness was the strongest predictor of playing, followed by the need for in-game competence. Male players showed stronger in-game motivational needs for relatedness and competence, whereas female players were more strongly motivated by a need for autonomy. The needs for relatedness and competence predicted spending on microtransactions, whereas the need for autonomy did not. Depending on the measure for gaming disorder, between 1% and 9% of these core players met the diagnostic criteria. Gaming disorder was also related to social anxiety and increased spending on in-game microtransactions.