Study: 70% of players have shunned a game because of its community's rep

Positive Game Cultures are Good Business - Take This

Hate and harassment in gaming spaces take a toll on the mental health of the community. From short-term distress, to long term post-traumatic stress disorder symptomology, we know that these…

www.takethis.org

Really interesting study on the business impact of community toxicity. Some toplines:

• 60% of players said they had quit a session, or a game entirely, due to hate or harassment from its community.

• 60% of players said they had chosen not to spend money in a game due to treatment from its community.

• 70% of players said they had avoided certain games because of the reputation of their communities.

The findings suggest that devs and publishers should care about community health by showing a direct connection to the bottom line. There are other very important reasons to care about building better communities that are core to what we want to achieve with Just About, but it's reassuring to know that the financial argument is a powerful one too.

A toxic community has definitely been a factor in my avoiding certain games (e.g. League of Legends), but is anyone else a bit surprised the 70% figure is quite so high? Have any of you avoided a game because of its community's rep?