WHO Officially Classifies Gaming Disorder As Official Diagnosis In ICD

Back in late 2017, the World Health Organization released a draft of the eleventh edition of the International Compendium of Diseases (ICD-11) which included an early definition of gaming addiction as a diagnosable mental illness. “Gaming Disorder” as it was called, created a stir among players and industry, including the ESA who pushed back and criticized the inclusion of obsessive gaming as any sort of health problem. Despite this, WHO has moved ahead with the inclusion and finalized Gaming Disorder in the final copy of ICD-11.

The ICD is an internationally recognized and utilized database containing over 55,000 diagnosable diseases and health problems. Efforts on the book are meant to be bias-free and wholly scientific as knowledge of health risks and medical science increases.

The finalized definition of Gaming Disorder is determined by an obsession in which “the behavior pattern is of sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning,” as stated in the ICD-11. It is not playing “too much,” as is often mistakenly perceived by critics of the disorder, so much as playing to a degree in which one unconsciously and uncontrollably neglects their health and wellness.

WHO also chose to include an entry in the ICD-11 for what is called “hazardous gaming” in which patterns and lengths of gameplay can “[increase] the risk of harmful physical or mental health consequences to the individual or to others around this individual. The increased risk may be from the frequency of gaming, from the amount of time spent on these activities, from the neglect of other activities and priorities, from risky behaviors associated with gaming or its context, from the adverse consequences of gaming, or from the combination of these. The pattern of gaming often persists in spite of awareness of increased risk of harm to the individual or to others.”

The ICD-11 and its inclusion of Gaming Disorder arrives at a time when stories are emerging of addiction to games like Fortnite, resulting in players quitting for the sake of their health and/or careers, and parents showing concern of their children playing the game too much. The ESA also pushed back on this definition back in January, calling the inclusion of Gaming Disorder as a diagnosis “reckless”.

In their address of Gaming Disorder, the ESA claimed that the inclusion of the disorder “trivializes real mental health issues like depression and social anxiety disorder, which deserve treatment and the full attention of the medical community.”

Certainly there are arguments for and against the inclusion of the disorder, but regardless of the debate, it would appear that Gaming Disorder will now be considered an official diagnosable classification.