Last Man Standing: Battle Royale Games Through the Lens of Self-Determination Theory

The highly popular video game genre of Battle Royale (BR) games is characterized by survival and exploration elements that feature a last-man-standing gameplay, thus, motivating players to be the final contestant in the game. Drawing on the Self-Determination Theory the present study investigated the role of personal values, psychological needs and well-being in a self-selected sample of 303 BR gamers recruited online. The association between players' value orientation and well-being was found contingent on players' BR gaming experience and their need for relatedness. Whereas frequent interaction with this game genre was associated with the basic psychological need satisfaction of autonomy and relatedness, player preference for BR games was related to their need of competence and autonomy. The present study supports the importance of exploring player motives and provides initial insights into the association between BR gaming and basic psychological needs.