Digital Gaming During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic: Healthy Escapism and Social Connectedness

This study examines how gaming habits shifted during the early months of COVID-19 restrictions, asking whether the pandemic changed how people played and why. Drawing on a mixed-methods survey of 146 gamers in the United States, Europe, and India, conducted online in May and June 2020, the research compares participants' behavior in the two months before restrictions with their behavior during the initial lockdown period. The authors conclude that gaming during this window functioned largely as a form of healthy escapism and a means of maintaining social connection.

The quantitative findings show a substantial increase in play. Across the broader sample of more than 300 participants, weekly gaming time rose from roughly 9.8 to 17.9 hours, with significant growth in online, co-located, and solo play and in most device categories. Virtual reality and public gaming were unchanged. Four genres, namely adventure and action-adventure, role-playing, puzzle, board, and card games, and shooters, showed statistically significant increases. These shifts were analyzed using paired and one-sample t-tests, while open-ended responses were examined through thematic analysis.

Qualitatively, participants described gaming in terms of boredom relief, stress reduction, mental distraction, and connection with others. Negative consequences, such as physical discomfort or concerns about addiction, appeared in only about 5 percent of responses. The authors attribute the rise in play mainly to greater available time and psychological responses to restrictions, and they note that achievement and mastery motivations were largely absent. The findings align with prior research, though the modest sample, subjective genre classification, and reliance on retrospective self-reports limit how broadly the conclusions can be generalized.