Coping Strategies and Motivation to Play Determinants of Behavioral Patterns of Playing Pay-to-Win Games

Aims The aim of the study was to identify psychological determinants of particular patterns of playing P2W games (including problem gaming): coping strategies and motivation to play.MethodsThe article presents the results of the study conducted among online Pay to Win (P2W) gamers (n = 868), defined as those who have declared to make payments in online games in order to gain an advantage over gamers who refuse to pay. ResultsThe two patterns of problem gaming differed in their predictors; the pattern of larger contributions is associated with self-enhancement motivation, and the pattern of small frequent contributions is associated with social motivation and escape from problems.ConclusionsThe social factor proved to be the differentiator between the most distinct types of players. In this context, the question can be raised whether players who pay only for the aesthetic aspects of the game (and not for progress) should be excluded from P2W players. The mechanisms involved in these players may be similar, and if different, they would be worthwhile to analyze. Perhaps for some players P2W games are not strictly speaking “pay to win” but rather “pay to win admiration” games.