*By Bridgette Webb* Video game companies are hooking players at a rapid pace, and developers' tactics have come a long way, said Sarah Needleman, a tech reporter for the Wall Street Journal. "These changes are evolutionary, they have to do with technology that have made it possible for gaming developers to do certain things they couldn't do before," Needleman said Tuesday in an interview on Cheddar. Needleman said all the ingredients for addiction are baked into the ever-popular "Fortnite." The game has amassed at least 125 million players since its debut in 2017 and continues to [captivate](https://cheddar.com/videos/fans-are-spending-1-billion-on-accessories-for-free-game-fortnite) fans with its near-weekly add-ons and accessory packages. "This game checks all the boxes when it comes to making a game alluring," said Needleman. "The most popular mode is free, it's available on every device, it has new content on a regular basis, and they add new features to the store that you can customize and show off." "These are not necessarily designed to create addiction or anything nefarious," she added. "They are just changes made to make games more enjoyable." In June, the World Health Organization added “gaming disorder” to an updated version of its International Classification of Diseases. The organization warned that symptoms of the condition include abandoning interests and activities to indulge in gaming and will give the disease a formal classification in 2022. Despite the zeal by many developers to up user engagement, certain tech giants have implemented new features to moderate game time. China-based Tencent, the world's biggest gaming company, introduced a new feature in July that allows parents and their children to negotiate playing time. The move followed criticism that children were neglecting their studies to play Tencent’s games. No such measures exist in the U.S., but the country may follow China's lead if anti-gaming sentiment continues to spread. For full interview [click here] ( https://cheddar.com/videos/how-video-games-keep-hooking-you-in).
