JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Online games developed to improve mental health symptoms are reportedly effective among game users. However, it has not been verified whether massive multiplayer online games (MMOGs) developed for leisure purposes are effective in improving users’ mental health symptoms.

Objective:

Hence, with the theoretical background of behavioral activation, in which increasing behavior tied to rewards reduces depressive symptoms, we aimed to examine whether interventions on the MMOG could improve users' depressive and social anxiety symptoms using a Japanese MMOG called Pigg Party.

Methods:

Participants were 1,105 users of the Pigg Party, and they were randomly assigned to an experimental group and a waitlist group. The experimental group was assigned the task of visiting another user's virtual house, ringing the doorbell, and customizing their avatar on Pigg Party over three months, while the waitlist group was not assigned such tasks. Depressive and social anxiety symptoms were measured using questionnaires at the start of the experiment and at one, two, and three months later.

Results:

The experimental group exhibited a significantly higher frequency of doorbell ringing than the waitlist group, and their depressive symptoms significantly improved. In contrast, no significant differences were observed in the frequency of avatar customization or social anxiety symptoms between the two groups.

Conclusions:

These findings suggest that game users’ depressive symptoms can be improved through interventions on an MMOG. The effectiveness of different platforms in improving social anxiety symptoms related to MMOG needs to be re-examined. Clinical Trial: WDB9U (DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/WDB9U)