Ethical Disengagement in Mobile Games: The Effects of Loading Delay and Grayscale on User Engagement

This study addresses a knowledge gap in understanding intervention strategies for ethical disengagement in mobile games, focusing on approaches that prioritize player health by moderating game interactivity and aesthetics to mitigate usage. In a randomized experiment involving 84,325 participants playing Flying Gorilla over one month, we evaluated user engagement across seven conditions: a baseline, loading time delays of 1, 5, and 10 seconds, grayscale display, and combinations of grayscale with 5- and 10-second delays. The results indicated that loading time delays and grayscale display effectively reduced retention rates and average daily playtime, with the most significant impact observed when combining grayscale with longer loading time delays. Specifically, a grayscale display paired with a 10-second loading delay reduced daily playtime by up to 30.8% and retention rates by 40.4% compared to the baseline. Additionally, regional and user-type analyses suggested that the effects of these interventions may vary based on regional characteristics and user engagement patterns. These findings highlight the potential of such interventions that might help nudge players to curb excessive gaming and offer insights into designing mobile gaming experiences that consider player well-being.