Capitals and Gaming Preferences in the Digital Age : A Bourdieusian study of Chinese players

Based on Bourdieu's theory of habitus, capital, and field, this study explores the relationship between online game players' game preferences and their economic capital and cultural capital. In the context of the rapid development of China's game industry and the digital transformation of society, online games are no longer just entertainment media but have become an important space for social stratification, identity construction and symbolic expression. Through multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), this study constructs social space and game space based on player survey data, revealing how players' game tastes, behaviors, and online interaction styles correspond to their social class positions. The study found that players' game practices are statically significantly affected by their capital structure, the v-test results are mostly above 2 or below -2. Players with higher economic capital and/or cultural capital show stronger aesthetic orientation, higher game investment and richer online social behavior, while low-capital groups tend to participate in functional or escapist games and lack symbolic expression. The study finally identified four representative types of players: Cultivated players, Pragmatic players, Intensive players, and Old school isolated players, which respectively reflect the reproduction of social structure in the game space and the class division mechanism in the digital field.