Understanding Disengagement From Competitive Multiplayer Games: An Exploratory Study of League of Legends

Competitive play in the multiplayer online battle arena game (MOBA) League of Legends (LoL) is a popular and engaging form of leisure. While it is well understood what draws players into such games, less is known about the process of disengagement from play sessions in competitive multiplayer settings. However, disengagement is a necessary part of play and one that has a significant impact on player experience. Our work addresses this knowledge gap through an exploratory interview study that examines the disengagement experiences of regular LoL players (n=8) and coaches (n=2). Leveraging grounded theory, our preliminary results identified four key contributors to the experience of disengagement: (1) satisfaction and frustration related to player performance, (2) team dynamics and social interaction, (3) individual and social aspirations, and (4) the role of coaching in the structure of play sessions. These themes structure the complex dynamics of player experience at the end of play sessions. Building upon our initial findings, we propose a lens on disengagement in competitive online multiplayer games, adding nuance to the existing body of literature that has examined disengagement in single-player settings.