Abstract

The video game industry has emerged as one of the most profitable and rapidly expanding segments of the entertainment industry. Gamers interact with the virtual game world via an avatar, which offers an exceptional opportunity for players to express themselves in terms of sexual orientation and gender identity (or SOGI) through avatar customization. The main goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between gamers’ SOGI-related motivation and their customization of avatar elements. An online survey was distributed to collect data from Thai social gaming communities, specifically those who play “Grand Theft Auto V,” “Black Desert Online,” and “The SIMS4.” The sample consisted of 420 anonymous volunteer participants. Our chi-square analysis confirmed that gamers had SOGI-related motivations and demonstrated their desires via avatar customization. The findings also revealed that video gamers tend to customize their avatars to express their sexual orientation rather than their gender identity, particularly by reflecting the person for whom they have sexual desire. We specifically recommend that tertiary components of avatar appearance be prioritized in developing the customized options of video games to support the expression of SOGI-related motivation in virtual worlds.