Social networking and continuance intention among online gamers

The online gaming market is growing rapidly yet the available literature has not yet fully explained the formation of social networks in online games and how they impact gamers' continuance intention. Hence, this study examined how social ability and social needs are related to gamers' interdependence and network convergence, as well as how those factors are related to continuance intention. This study used online questionnaires to collect data. In total, 3,087 valid responses were collected and a structural equation modeling technique was used for analysis. Results indicated that social ability and social needs are positively related to gamer interdependence and network convergence, which are further positively related to continuance intention among gamers. Overall, social ability and needs motivate gamers to create communities and interdependent relationships with other gamers which help maintain a strong intention to continue gaming.