Study Finds No Correlation Between WoW Raiders and Any Measurable Life Metrics
GAME INTERCEPTOR // REPORTS
Image: Blizzard Entertainment press materials
A landmark Mideastern study indicates participation in high-level World of Warcraft raiding is not predictive of measurable life outcomes, including income, well-being, or life satisfaction.
“We found no correlation between participation in top-tier World of Warcraft raiding guilds and any measurable life metrics,” Anna Linderstrum remarked. “Even at top-tier levels of play, raiding appears to have no detectable effect on outcomes outside of World of Warcraft.”
Chris Thompson explained that researchers expected at least some level of financial impact. “We assumed that there would be a relationship, given the cost of subscriptions, expansions, and microtransactions. These often exceed 180 USD, plus a lengthy time investment. No such relationship emerged in the data.”
Oliver Randolf added: “We all expected to find something . . . Even buying additional in-game currency (gold) with USD is always offset by other factors.”
After review, Dr. Gyges theorized: “It’s almost as if an invisible hand offsets every dollar and hour invested into World of Warcraft . . . How could there be no effect?”