Sunk Cost Fallacy

The tendency to continue investing in something because of past investment, not because of future value. Players who've spent 200 hours feel compelled to keep playing.

In games, this means

Games exploit sunk cost intentionally: progress bars, level systems, and rare unlocks make quitting feel like abandoning investment. Ethically, sunk cost creates genuine attachment and completion satisfaction. Unethically, it traps players in games they no longer enjoy through guilt-driven retention mechanics.