When play becomes labour in the gig economy: career entry motivations of Chinese esports game companions

In today’s digital era, the boundaries between play and labor are being continuously reshaped, as platform-mediated work appeals to young people with the promise that play can pay. While the concept of playbour has long captured the blurred line between play and work, it has predominantly been conceptualized as informal and precarious. This study argues that playbour has entered a new stage of formal institutionalization through the convergence of the gig economy and state-led occupational recognition. Taking esports game companionship in China as a case, this research examines this form of gig-based playbour in which workers are paid to accompany their clients through online gameplay. This article employs the push-pull framework with a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design: qualitative interviews with 18 companions, followed by a survey of 686 respondents to examine motivations for entering this institutionalized form of work. The findings reveal a dual structure comprising three push factors (limited employment opportunities, financial pressure, and few monetizable skills) and three pull factors (passion and enjoyment, spatiotemporal flexibility, and higher earnings), with significant demographic variations. This study makes three contributions: first, it extends playbour theory by conceptualizing its transition from informal and precarious practices to formal institutionalized work; second, it applies the push-pull framework and a mixed-methods approach to an emerging digital occupation, offering a more comprehensive explanation of entry motivations; and third, it reveals how young people’s career choices reflect a tension-laden compromise between aspiration and structural constraint, with practical implications for youth employment policy.