What’s the story?

The wildly popular Fortnite game has been causing marriages to break down, with over 200 divorces in the UK this year citing Fortnite addiction as one of the reasons.

Background

The numbers behind Fortnite are staggering and highlight the immense growth of the online gaming industry. Despite growth starting to slow, the game is expected to bring in its creators at Epic Games $2bn in revenue, generated from in-game purchases, in 2018. The game has over 3 million broadcasters on the gaming streaming site Twitch and 8.8 million viewers watched a one-off Fortnite event in June.

One of the reasons for its popularity has been its appeal to women, resulting in women making up almost half of its mobile players, a far higher percentage than for similar games. Its popularity is however clearly not universally, judging from its appearance in the divorce citations.

On the nature and causes of addiction

Addiction and substance abuse are a major health issue. It is estimated that as of 2017 globally over 250 million people use drugs, of which 30 million can be classified as having drug use disorders. The use of alcohol alone is reckoned by the World Health Organization to cause over 3 million deaths each year.

MentalHelp.net defines addiction as “the repeated involvement with a substance or activity, despite the substantial harm it now causes, because that involvement was (and may continue to be) pleasurable and/or valuable.”

So what causes people to become addicted and end up going back time and time again to a substance of activity that clearly causes a tremendous amount of harm and distress to themselves and those around them? The National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) cites four reasons for why people start using drugs:

  1. To feel good
  2. To feel better
  3. To do better
  4. Curiosity and social pressure

Whilst the focus is often on substances that can cause addiction, the same reasons are readily applicable to activities that can lead to addiction.

The neurophysiology underlying addiction has been extensively studied. The areas of the brain involved in rewarding behavior, both regular and pathophysiological, are known, with the mesolimbic dopamine system being key. Drugs of abuse are all known to act on this neural pathway, often either directly or indirectly causing the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine by cells, or preventing its reuptake into the cells. This release causes a sense of euphoria and reward. Areas involved in the pathway include both areas involved with higher level functioning, such as the prefrontal cortex, which handles strategic decision making, and more primal level functioning, such as the nucleus accumbens.

Crucially, this pathway is the same one that is involved in our experiencing of regular reward, from food, social interaction, exercise and pleasures of the flesh. Drugs of abuse and addictive activities simply hijack this system. As put by Barry Everitt and Trevor Robbins in their Nature Neuroscience article:

“Drug addiction is increasingly viewed as the endpoint of a series of transitions from initial drug use—when a drug is voluntarily taken because it has reinforcing, often hedonic, effects—through loss of control over this behavior, such that it becomes habitual and ultimately compulsive.”

As an aside, it is worthwhile noting that exposure to a drug of abuse or addictive activity doesn’t always lead to addiction. Personal dispositions and vulnerability differ, depending on factors such as our genetic make-up, environment and stage in life.

Fortnite as a drug

So what makes Fortnite addictive? What are the reinforcing, often hedonic effects, that might cause gamers to lose control over their initial voluntary behavior and make them become habitual and ultimately compulsive seekers of their Fornite fix?

For those unfamiliar with the game, it has a very simple premise: you land on an island with 100 other players and battle it out until you’re the last person or last squad standing. To do so you have to find weapons and ammunition hidden around the island and use those to eliminate your opponents. These weapons come in a variety of forms, ranging in rarity and how powerful they are. All the while, a storm closes in around the island, making the game area smaller as you go along, ensuring the remaining players end up ever closer to each other.

Having been playing the game myself over the last few months -fortunately thus far without an insatiable longing for it- it is readily obvious what the appeal is and why it has become so popular:

  • It has really great game play. It’s very easy to get stuck into, as well as to get sucked deeper into. There is an instant hit of enjoyment that you get from it, right from the beginning, not requiring to sit through long tutorials or having to learn complicated controls.
  • Just as important as being easily able to get stuck in, is the clear sense of improvement as soon as you continue playing. That makes you want to come back each time, to see if you can get even better.
  • The fact that it is so readily available contributes as well. We often have quick access to a mobile device to play on. The game loads relatively quickly and once you finish a game you can be back in for another game shortly after.
  • So what about the rewarding and reinforcing elements? Clearly winning the game is the ultimate reward, but this is not the key element in its addictive property. Even without ever winning (and again, I speak from experience) there are plenty of reward generating elements along the way. Finding the different weapons by itself is already rewarding, including the thrill of finding one of the elusive ‘epic’ or ‘legendary’ items, identifiable by their different glowing colors. The game has golden chests scattered, which contain additional goodies, as well as rare llamas, containing even larger amounts of military gifts to be bestowed on the player finding them. All of these game play elements give a sense of reward. A jolt of pleasure when finding something new. Needless to say the same applies when you manage to eliminate an opponent. Like finding the more rare weapons, this again doesn’t happen so frequent for it to lose its excitement and novelty. One time it might be a suspenseful closer encounter battle and another time it might be an ultra-satisfying long range sniper riffle shot. NB: it should be added that the game excels in not glorifying violence in any way whatsoever (likely one of the reasons for its broader appeal). There is no gore, blood or drama whatsoever and it’s more comparable to paintball or laser game than a violent shooter game.
  • Nonetheless, there is plenty of excitement to be had, including the adrenaline build-up from knowing a player could be lurking around a corner, intensified further by the sounds and appearance of on-screen foot prints indicating the imminent presence of an opponent.
  • There are other rewarding elements too. Playing with and against other people gives the game a social, teamwork aspect. There is the ability to play in teams with friends, which is again seamless to set up, but even when playing in a squad with strangers there quickly is a sense of team, with players able to revive each other when they have been hurt. As mentioned before, the area of the brain involved in addiction is also activated by social interactions.
  • Lastly, there are the explicit rewards that are obtained. Playing the game and doing well results in receiving points (XPs), and as you move up through the levels those points translate into receiving in-game items such as skins that change the appearance of your character, or the ability to do the now famous different Fortnite dances. Additional rewards can be obtained by making in-game purchases, which we as mentioned resulted in $2bn in revenue already, clearly highlighting their appeal.

It should therefore not be surprising that the game provides a big draw for people and, with the combination of individual differences in vulnerability to addiction and the sheer number of players, it should not come as a surprise either that a significant number of people end up with an unhealthy obsession and ultimately developing Fortnite addiction.

Where to from here?

More and more elements in modern society are providing a quick fix, indulging often unwitting audiences in short-term pleasures and distractions. As a master procrastinator myself, I have many times suffered the fate of having started reading about something interesting, only to find myself three clicks later on Youtube watching dogs failing to be dogs, never to return to the original article which will remain barely read forever.

Of course games, like Fortnite, are specifically designed to draw you in. That is what their primary purpose is. Just as a book, series, film, sports match or any other form of entertainment ideally should engross you. Both for the benefit and enjoyment of you as a consumer, as for the benefit of the producer, aiming to generate revenue directly from sales or indirectly from keeping your attention and generating revenues from ads or in-game purchases. Nobody is to blame there. Fortnite addiction isn’t something Epic strive to achieve, but it’s can hardly be accused of acting immorally.

It is however undeniable that the changes in media, entertainment and technology are having an impact on society and that these are not always positive. New mental health issues are surfacing, not just in relation to addiction but also in relation to anxiety and depression, often resulting from the impact of social media.

The Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is the principal authority used for the diagnosis of psychiatric disorders. In 2013, the DSM-5 was released, superseding the DSM-IV from 1994. One of the changes to compared to the previous version was the change in name from “Substance-Related Disorders” to “Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders”, reflecting the need for a broader definition. Furthermore, Gambling disorder was moved to the section, having previously been in a section on impulse control disorders, again reflecting the fact that addiction isn’t just about substance abuse.

Currently, other problematic and potentially addictive behaviors such as excessive sexual behavior, compulsive buying and kleptomania have not been included in the section yet. They have however been flagged as areas requiring additional future research.

Internet Gaming Disorder also has not been included as of yet, but it too has been recognised as a “Condition for Further Study”.

We live in a tremendously exciting period in history, with amazing new developments in all aspects of life succeeding each other faster and faster, opening up great opportunities for increased happiness, prosperity and general well-being. At the same time, it’s important to be aware of the potential negative side effects of it all too. Fortnite addiction is real.

 

 

Disclaimer: All views expressed are mine alone. The above references an opinion and is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be advice of any sorts. If you are suffering from addiction or mental health issues, or believe you might be, please seek help from a qualified, professional doctor.