Why players start and stop playing a Chinese social network game

The free-to-play economic model of social network games (SNGs) requires them to maintain a large number of active players. Only a small percentage of the player population will purchase in-game goods, which provides the income stream that funds the continued operation of the game. Understanding the reasons why players choose to play (and consequently spend their money) or abandon SNGs is important for designing SNGs that are economically viable. We explore the reasons why players decide to continue or stop playing SNGs by reporting the results of a survey questionnaire presented to a large population (N=48,882) of players of a Chinese SNG. We show that although players joined the game for different reasons, most players keep playing the game because of their sense of achievement. In contrast to other SNG studies, social obligations did not prevent players from leaving the game as they become bored.