WHO Unanimously Votes to Recognize Gaming Disorder in ICD-11

According to a report by Nikkei Review, the World Health Organization (or WHO) has officially voted to recognize “Gaming Disorder” as a medical disease. 

During the 72nd World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, the entire WHO board voted unanimously to induct the disease into their officially listed health risks. The ruling and induction was passed almost a year ago and will go into effect the first day of January 2020. 

Gaming Disorder will join other diseases listed in the ICD (International Classification of Diseases), putting on the roadmap to better understanding and the eventual set-up of proper help for those affected. ICD-11, which includes the addition of Game Disorder, is what was voted as approved.

“Understanding what makes people sick, and what eventually kills them, is at the core of mapping disease trends and epidemics, deciding how to programme health services, allocate healthcare spending, and invest in improving therapies and prevention,” reads the update by the World Health Organization. “ICD-11 is now fit for many uses, including clinical recording, primary care, patient safety, antimicrobial resistance, resource allocation, reimbursement, casemix, in addition to mortality and morbidity statistics.” 

The classification of Gaming Disorder is an important inclusion in the ICD-11, especially as the gaming community grows and gains more steam with every passing day. 

Now, it’s important to understand that the World Health Organization isn’t going to classify most people with Gaming Disorder. Rather, the disease is strictly in regards to those that display self-harming or destructive results of their addictions. Much like other addictions. 

The official classification of Gaming Disorder reads as “defined in the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as a pattern of gaming behavior (“digital-gaming” or “video-gaming”) characterized by impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests and daily activities, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences.”

However, it’s the last part of the classification that is key. “For gaming disorder to be diagnosed, the behaviour pattern must be of sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning and would normally have been evident for at least 12 months.”

Our multi-billion dollar industry includes many products that have seen instances of destructive behavior and even severe harm due to addiction. However, the majority of video game players see no harm done to their lives even in situations where gaming is their preferred form of entertainment. 

In a statement published today by the Entertainment Software Association, the group calls upon the World Health Organization to rethink their classification of Gaming Disorder and the approval passed during the assembly today. 

“The WHO is an esteemed organization and its guidance needs to be based on regular, inclusive, and transparent reviews backed by independent experts. ‘Gaming disorder’ is not based on sufficiently robust evidence to justify inclusion in one of the WHO’s most important norm-setting tools,” reads the ESA statement. 

The ESA haven’t been quiet since the official classification of the disorder, last year saying that the WHO induction of Gaming Disorder “recklessly trivializes real mental health issues” and their sentiment today doesn’t seem to be very far from that. 

As of publishing this, the World Health Organization has yet to comment or respond to the statement by the Entertainment Software Association. 

Twin Galaxies will continue to update this story as more develops.