Power Play: How the Need to Empower or Overpower Other Players Predicts Preferences in League of Legends

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The power motive describes our need to have an impact on others. Relevant in contexts such as sports, politics, and business, the power motive could help explain experiences and behaviours in digital games. We present four studies connecting the power motive to role and champion type choices in the MOBA game League of Legends (LoL). In Study1 we demonstrate that overall power motive does not predict role preferences. In Study2 we develop a 6-item-scale distinguishing between two facets of power in game settings: prosociality (empowering others) and dominance (overpowering others). In Study3 we show that prosociality and dominance uniquely predict role preferences for Support and Top Lane. In Study4 we demonstrate that champion type choice (tank, fighter, slayer, controller) is uniquely predicted by dominance and prosociality. We provide insight on how the wish for vertical interactions with other players—the power motive—can influence player interactions in multiplayer games.