The virus is transmitted between humans in close proximity, making isolation one of the key measures for reducing its spreading ( World Health Organization, 2020). What makes the pandemic so persistent and troublesome is that patients with the virus typically develop severe respiratory symptoms later on in the disease, and do not necessarily notice for days or at all they are carrying the virus due to its long incubation period ( Lai et al., 2020, Lauer et al., 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic is arguably the greatest global challenge that humanity as a whole has had to face in the current millennium.
As such, LBGs can be considered a resource in designing interventions for influencing movement at a population level. Our findings demonstrate the influence that LBGs can have on human behaviour even during global crises such as COVID-19. Fear of missing out and deficient self-regulation increased playing intensity, which in turn negatively correlated with the intention to reduce social playing. The results showed that perceived severity of the pandemic and a positive attitude towards both governmental measures and in-game changes for combatting COVID-19 predicted intention to reduce social playing. For investigating factors influencing intention to play LBGs socially during the on-going pandemic, we collected cross-sectional survey data (N = 855) from Finnish players of the most popular LBG, Pokémon GO. The major LBG developers reacted by making in-game adjustments that allow playing from home, while still maintaining some incentives for players to go outdoors and socialise. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, people were advised and even forced by governments to stay home and avoid social contact to slow down the spreading of the virus. Location-based games (LBGs) are typically played outdoors, as moving in the game is done by moving in the real world.
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