Abstract
Paid co-playing, a practice where players pay other players to join them as teammates in gaming, has been steadily emerging as a distinctive phenomenon in video games. The service providers, referred to as co-players, monetize their gaming expertise and companionship by offering personalized gameplay services and emotional value to their customers. While goal achievement has traditionally been considered an important motivation for players’ engagement in gaming, the process of achieving these goals has also been increasingly valued by players. In line with this trend in video games, paid co-playing has emerged not only to assist players in achieving their goals but, more importantly, to facilitate their active engagement in the gaming process, enhancing both their gameplay and emotional experiences. This practice reflects a fundamental shift in player priorities from purely goal-oriented achievement to a balanced emphasis on both outcomes and game experience.Despite its growing prominence, paid co-playing remains underexplored in academic research, with much of the existing discourse framing it as a form of cheating or an underground service. Such narrow perspectives fail to recognize both its role in meeting diverse player needs and players’ active agency in shaping their game experiences. This research aims to address this gap by examining the historical emergence of paid co-playing, exploring player motivations and challenges within this practice, and investigating ethical concerns about its impact on game environments and broader gaming culture. As this phenomenon remains little-explored in research fields, this thesis functions as an exploratory research, employing digital ethnography and qualitative case study to explore paid co-playing through the lens of player perspective. Special attention is given to the interactions between co-players and customers, as well as their perceptions and experiences in this practice.
This research contributes both empirically and theoretically to understanding paid co-playing practices in video games. Empirically, it challenges common perceptions of paid co-playing as merely cheating or underground service, revealing instead its role in meeting diverse player needs for desired committed teammates, enhancing their game experience as well as their emotional experience, and taking control of their own games in multiplayer games. Theoretically, it situates paid co-playing in broader gaming history and related peripheral practices in video games by introducing two key concepts: player-based play and player-shaped games. These concepts illustrate how average players exercise agency through paid co-playing to modify their game experiences, demonstrating that player agency extends beyond traditionally active players. This framework provides a new analytical dimension for understanding players’ play behavior in multiplayer games, particularly how players transition from focusing on achievement to valuing the gaming experience itself. I believe this research will not only advance our understanding of paid co-playing as a gaming phenomenon but also offer new insights into player agency and its implications for broader game culture and future game design.
| Date of Award | 28 Feb 2025 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Olli Tapio LEINO (Supervisor) & Yong Ming KOW (Supervisor) |