In a recent vote, the World Health Organization has officially approved classifying video game addiction, or gaming disorder, as a disease. The unanimous vote means that gaming disorder will officially be added with the revisions to the International Classification of Diseases, commonly known as the ICD, and will go into effect July 14, 2025. While the World Health Organization classifiedgaming addiction as a diseasea year ago, today’s vote and the 72nd World Health Assembly finalized the revision and made the classification official.
The ICD-11, the newly adopted version of the ICD, defines gaming disorder as a pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behaviour, which may be online or offline, manifested by:
Essentially, the definition outlines video game addiction to the point where the individual begins putting gaming as a priority over other tasks and necessities - typically characterized by an impulse to play video games more than do anything else. While the ICD is not necessarily law, it is a well-regarded metric by which medical professionals assess a patient and pass down a diagnosis, meaning that the newly added gaming disorder could easily be applied to patients seeking treatment for one reason or another.
The Entertainment Software Association, who created the ESRB, fought back against the definition when the WHO outlined these changes last year. The ESAstated that video games are not addictive, and urged the WHO to “reverse direction” on the proposal of the classification.
Fortniteis one of the most popular examples many look at when discussing gaming addiction due to how popular and widespread it is among younger audiences. A study last year showed thatvideo games could be as addicting as drugsto certain audiences, which is likely why the WHO is taking steps to lay the groundwork for treatment of such disorders. While addiction cases are still low, only time will tell if the number will rise thanks to the new classification when it goes into effect in 2022.
