Flow, Game Evaluation, and Player Loyalty in Mobile Games: Evidence from Korea and Japan

Mobile-game publishers face the dual challenge of retaining existing players while sustaining continuously updated digital services. This study develops and tests an integrated model linking psychological flow and overall game evaluation, shaped by service quality, system quality, and pricing policy, to satisfaction, word-of-mouth (WOM), and reuse intention. Survey data from adult paying mobile-game users in Korea and Japan were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling, bootstrap inference, measurement-invariance assessment, and multigroup comparisons. Flow and game evaluation were positively associated with satisfaction, which in turn was positively associated with both loyalty intentions. Cross-national comparisons suggested a stronger satisfaction–WOM relationship in Korea and a stronger satisfaction–reuse intention relationship in Japan. These directional patterns persisted after controlling for gender, age, gaming tenure, and daily playtime, although statistical support for between-country differences was sensitive to the outcome and multiple-testing considerations. The findings integrate experiential and operational explanations of player satisfaction and offer cautious implications for sustaining consumer relationships in digital services.