Are video games playing a bigger role in divorces? According to a recent study, the answer is yes and World of Warcraft is a particular threat to marital bliss.

Divorce Online reports that video games caused 5% of divorces last year. Specifically, couples divorced because the man was paying more attention to his games than to his girl. This year the number reportedly jumped to 15 percent with many disgruntled women blaming World of Warcraft for their woes.

So why the ten percent spike from last year? No one’s quite sure, but Divorce Online’s Dr. Mark Keenan thinks the recession is partially to blame as out-of-work men have more time to dedicate to gaming. Online gaming addiction is also a problem. 

Jessica Ellis, 24, is one wife who says her marriage was wrecked by World of Warcraft. 

‘He was addicted to World of Warcraft but played other games now and then,” Ellis told The Daily Mail. “The amount he was playing gradually increased until I could not take it anymore. When it became serious he was playing up to eight hours a day. I was constantly trying to get him to cut back but he didn’t think he had a problem until I told him I wanted to leave. But by that time it was too late.”

The study, which looked at 200 unreasonable behavior petitions filed by women, found that Call of Duty and Halo were also troublesome to marriages. 

Not surprisingly, those in the gaming world disagree with the study’s results and think video games are merely an escape tool for men who are already in unhealthy relationships or that women are unfairly accusing men of spending too much time playing games.

What do you think? Are video games truly a threat to marriage or is the excessive gaming the sign of bigger problems?

Tags: video games and divorce, video games, gaming, world of warcraft
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