Post-game depression scale – a measure to capture after finishing video games
A new measure called the Post-Game Depression Scale (P-GDS) has been developed to quantify the feelings players experience after finishing video games. This scale consists of 17 items across four subscales and has shown internal consistency and validity. The research indicates that role-playing games tend to evoke stronger feelings of post-game depression compared to other genres.
- ▪The Post-Game Depression Scale (P-GDS) is the first quantitative measure for post-game depression.
- ▪The scale includes four subscales: Game-related Ruminations, Challenging End of Experience, Necessity of Repeating the Game, and Media Anhedonia.
- ▪Research found positive correlations between post-game depression intensity and depressive symptoms, rumination, and lower well-being.
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Home Current Psychology Article Post-game depression scale - a new measure to capture players' experiences after finishing video games Published: 26 January 2026 Volume 45, article number 320, (2026) Cite this article Save article View saved research Current Psychology Aims and scope Submit manuscript Kamil Janowicz ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6193-53311 & Piotr Klimczyk ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3137-42112 989 Accesses 173 Altmetric 24 Mentions Explore all metrics Abstract Post-game depression is the sense of emptiness that arises after completing a deeply immersive game. Although this phenomenon is widely reported by players (e.g., in social media), little research has been done in this field.
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