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Microsoft, Blizzard, Roblox, Rockstar, and others have to defend their right to create fun games.
Image credit: Mojang Studios | Minecraft
People suing game developers for all kinds of reasons are fun to watch but, I imagine, hard to deal with for studios. Six video game addiction lawsuits have been filed against Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Roblox, Epic Games, Rockstar, and other developers and publishers, accusing them of intentionally making players addicted to their games.
As reported by PC Gamer, the developers called it "an attack on the First Amendment rights of videogame creators."
One of the cases is from an Arkansas mother, who says that Roblox, Fortnite, Call of Duty, Minecraft, and other games have "addictive psychological features" that have been luring her son in since he was 12 years old. Now he is 21 and he spends $350 a month on games, dropped out of school, has been diagnosed with depressive disorder and anxiety, and experienced "withdrawal symptoms such as rage, anger, and physical outbursts." The woman claims that she couldn't regulate his gaming hours because she "feared" him.
She says developers "take advantage of the chemical reward system of a user's brain (especially a minor) to create addictive engagement, compulsive use, and additional mental and physical harm."
The companies' lawyers, however, argue that finding video games "too entertaining" is not a reason to limit their creative expression and free speech rights. They also say the lawsuit lacks examples of what actually caused harm and how.
But it does describe some allegedly addictive properties, such as "predatory monetization" and "dark patterns" – manipulative or unethical designs.
"Call of Duty, for instance, is criticized for rewarding players with gun and attachment unlocks, which the suit calls "a form of operant conditioning," as well as for featuring "fast-paced play, satisfying graphics, sounds, and other dopamine lifts." Minecraft's multiplayer features are said to "addict players to connecting with others in the Minecraft world" and the suit warns that players with ADHD "can become easily hyper focused and addicted to building worlds." Grand Theft Auto 5, the suit says, 'includes endless arrays of activities and challenges to continually engage users and ensure they are never bored.'"
Most of such lawsuits, including the Arkansas one, were filed by Atlanta law firm Bullock Ward Mason, which states video game addiction as one of its specialties.
"Videogame addiction is a serious problem created and perpetuated by a multi-billion industry with a profit incentive to create addicts out of our children," its representative told PC Gamer. "The addiction we are seeing in children and young adults is severe, with gaming taking over their entire lives, causing drastic and detrimental impacts on their wellbeing."
If the lawsuits are not dismissed, the developers will take them to arbitration. As noted by PC Gamer, the plaintiffs asked for more time to respond to these motions.
While video game addiction does exist, I don't think suing developers for making them too enjoyable is reasonable. Imagine if companies had to think about this side of games on top of everything else they have to do in order to release a game. We'd never see GTA 6 then.
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