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- Thanks to the cheap digital titles, subscriptions, and more, choice fatigue has made its way into gaming.
- Choice fatigue can lead to gamers wasting time deciding what to play and eventually returning to an older favorite.
- Dealing with this problem requires discipline, scheduling, and cutting back on impulse purchases.
We live in an age where gaming options are nearly limitless. Between sprawling open worlds, indie gems, day-one drops, and several remastered classics, players have access to more content than ever before.
However, with abundance comes the challenge of choice fatigue. This can basically be considered the creeping exhaustion of staring at your library and realizing you’ve spent more time deciding what to play than actually playing.
Why it matters: Choice fatigue isn’t limited to a few gamers with access to multiple platforms. This problem has become widespread today and will only get worse as digital distribution methods continue expanding.
The Role of Digital Tools
Ironically, the convenience of digital platforms contributes to this overload. It’s now easier than ever to grab a game or two.
Many Xbox gamers also use an Xbox gift card digital top-up for their wallets, which lets them quickly access the titles they want without diving into a full subscription. Although a bigger games library isn’t necessarily bad, it can lead to a growing backlog built on the back of impulse purchases.
Add Game Pass and limited-time sales into the mix, and players are quickly overwhelmed with options. This is a huge problem when you only have an hour or two to play games each day and spend 30 minutes scrolling through your library to find a good enough title.
How More Can Lead To Less
Choice fatigue can actively harm a person’s engagement with the gaming medium. When there are practically endless options available at your disposal, it’s hard to commit to one game.
Switching between different titles can also be mentally draining, and all of this may lead to you missing out on actual great games at the end of the day.
Dealing With Choice Fatigue
The most basic way to solve this problem is to simply limit your purchases to a few games. Digital gift cards can come in handy here, making for more deliberate purchases.
Also, it may be a good idea to hide part of your library or uninstall unwanted games. This should allow you to focus on a limited selection of games, which can then be rotated each month.
Finally, setting loose goals for your gaming needs is something worth considering. Playing games with the aim of finishing a title or two each month can help you stay focused and avoid mindlessly scrolling through an endless amount of content.
Having A Lot of Games Isn’t Inherently Bad
As any avid fan of the medium would tell you, one can never have too many games. In the era of games becoming more and more costly, it’s a blessing to have an extensive library, but regulating such libraries is still essential.
If the act of deciding what to play is too stressful, something is clearly wrong and needs to be changed. This is why a little discipline goes a long way in the fight against choice fatigue.
Of course, the best solution is to simply buy games that you know you’ll play. These may include the likes of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Donkey Kong Bananza, or one of the few other really well-received titles of 2025.
Digital marketplaces like Eneba come in handy here, letting you top up your account with games that you want.
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[News Reporter]
Avinash is currently pursuing a Business degree in Australia. For more than three years, he has been working as a gaming journalist, utilizing his writing skills and love for gaming to report on the latest updates in the industry. Avinash loves to play action games like Devil May Cry and has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameRant, Dualshockers, CBR, and Gamespot.
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