Digital playmerchant: Exploring how gamers navigate hybrid identity in transaction communities

Yipei Liu, Bao Jiao, A Postgraduate Student in the School of Journalism and Communication, Jilin University, A Professor and PhD. Supervisor in the School of Journalism and Communication, Jilin University

Journal of Consumer Culture

Published online on March 31, 2026

Abstract

Journal of Consumer Culture, Ahead of Print.
Although trading practices in contemporary games are deeply intertwined with gameplay, how gamers reconcile their hybrid identities as both game participants and trading actors remains underexplored. This study examines how such a hybrid gamer identity ...