Study Finds a Measurable Sense of Emptiness After Finishing Immersive Video Games

A 2026 study found that finishing an immersive game can bring sadness and emptiness, and created a 17-question scale to measure the experience.

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Finishing a deeply immersive video game can sometimes feel surprisingly emotional. A 2026 study in Current Psychology examined this experience, often called post-game depression, and developed the Post-Game Depression Scale, or P-GDS, to measure it. The researchers combined two studies involving 373 adult players and refined the measure to 17 questions covering four areas: repeatedly thinking about the game, struggling with the ending, wanting to replay it, and finding other games or media less enjoyable afterward. Stronger post-game symptoms were associated with more depressive symptoms, greater rumination, difficulties processing emotions, and lower well-being. Players who had recently finished role-playing games reported stronger symptoms than players who had finished other genres. The researchers stress that post-game depression is not a clinical diagnosis of depression. The study measured a specific set of difficult feelings that can follow an intense gaming experience. Because the research was cross-sectional, it cannot show whether these feelings cause poorer mental health or whether existing mental health difficulties make the experience more likely. Future studies following players over time could help clarify that relationship.

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