From Dunhuang Heritage to Digital Identity Performance: The Effects of Heritage-Themed Avatar Costume Skins on Cultural Identification and Behavioral Intentions in Global Game Markets

As digital games increasingly function as spaces for cultural circulation and avatar-based self-presentation, heritage imagery is being transformed into virtual commodities such as costume skins. However, limited research has examined how culturally specific heritage elements are received by overseas players when presented in visually accessible and wearable digital forms. Addressing this gap, this study investigates whether Dunhuang-inspired avatar costume skins can promote cultural identification and behavioral intentions in global game markets. Using three Dunhuang-themed skins from Honor of Kings as visual stimuli, this study collected survey data from 328 overseas players and tested the proposed relationships through structural equation modeling. The analysis focuses on the links among Fashion-Oriented Visual Experience, Cultural Identification, Purchase Intention, and Communication Intention. The results show that Fashion-Oriented Visual Experience significantly enhances Cultural Identification, which in turn positively influences both Purchase Intention and Communication Intention. These findings suggest that overseas players respond to Dunhuang-inspired skins largely through visually appealing and accessible digital presentation rather than through deep prior knowledge of the heritage itself. By linking heritage-themed skin design to cultural identification and market-related behavioral intentions, this study contributes to research on game skins, digital cultural content, and cross-cultural reception in contemporary game markets.