Psychological and Behavioral Outcomes of League of Legends Rank System in Italy, Turkey, Japan, and South Korea

The phenomenon of online gaming, particularly its effects, has been the subject of numerous scholarly studies. League of Legends (LoL) is a game that has attracted a lot of attention due to its widespread appeal and impact on players and is a leading example of the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) genre. This study explores how LoL ranks affect toxicity levels, self-esteem, emotional affection, and the desire to quit the game in multicultural contexts, namely, Italy, Turkey, Japan, and South Korea. Our findings highlight a positive correlation between player rank and toxic behavior, self-esteem, and positive emotional affectivity in all four countries (N = 1528). Additionally, it is found that higher ranked players are less likely to quit the game due to toxic behavior. These insights highlight the importance of promoting positive player interactions and implementing intervention strategies to address toxic behavior in competitive online gaming environments, especially for high-ranked players.