Time and change in virtual worlds: Understanding ludo-solastalgia

This article introduces the concept of ludo-solastalgia to describe the distress players experience due to changes in video games over time, drawing on place attachment and solastalgia from environmental psychology. Ludo-solastalgia is proposed as a framework for understanding how game updates, developer decisions and community actions can disrupt a player’s connection to virtual worlds and prompt protective actions. Through a review of industry and academic literature and case studies of Destiny 2 and MapleStory , this study highlights key markers across virtual environments to establish a foundation for future research into ludo-solastalgia . Technological and cultural markers of ludo-solastalgia are identified as areas for developers to address in order to promote sustainable player engagement and to help players better understand their dissatisfaction with evolving virtual worlds.