Fear Of Missing Out In Video Games Can Really Get To People, But Should It?

With the release of the new Cosmic Exploration content in Final Fantasy XIV, I’ve seen discussions about how quickly some servers are rolling through the content, which results in people who aren’t able to be around as much missing out on things. Some argue that the content is intended to be casual. It might be, but dedicated crafters are disinclined to be casual about getting a new tool with better stats. Of course, the result is that those who approach that side of the game more casually will find the moon progressing without them.

As people were pointing out the FOMO aspects of this particular bit of content – and as Wuthering Waves just dropped new content yesterday and Genshin Impact announced its next update today – it got me thinking about FOMO in games in general. These days, there are a lot of things that are one-and-done in games. Sometimes, it’s content like Cosmic Exploration that will exist for the lifetime of the game, but will do so at its final stage. Other times, it’s limited-time events that players can easily miss if they’re not paying attention. This is especially true of games like Genshin or Wuthering Waves, where it seems there’s a never-ending parade of events happening.

As someone who plays multiple games, I find myself having to make decisions about what content is really important. I wrote a bit about this in my post on dealing with busy work. Because honestly, at least for me, that’s what some of these events end up being. Not surprisingly, the events that I worry about most are story-related.

That said, there are events that provide players with useful things – leveling materials, buffs, cool new weapons or tools, and the like. That is often where I find myself really having to make decisions. Do I really need this? Will I feel bad if I miss out on it? Is it important enough for me to miss out on something else, somewhere else?

For whatever reason, it’s easy for me to just shrug off having missed out on most things. There are a few things that I get genuinely unhappy about missing, however. Story beats are obvious, but also, events that provide me with a cute new pet are a pretty big deal. I tend to keep an eye on what’s happening and weigh things as I go along.

Luckily, most of the games I play are more or less single-player with co-op components. So one thing that isn’t a factor is feeling like I’m competing with other players. The potential exception to that being XIV. The trick there is to remind yourself that you’re not playing games for other people. You’re playing them for your own enjoyment. Unless you’re purposefully being competitive, the best bet is to not worry about what other people are up to. Focus on what you want out of the game, and you won’t really miss out on anything important. If you do happen to miss something, just remember that there will always be more to do. Most things don’t really need to be a FOMO situation.