Order-Bound Companionship: The Practice of Emotional Labor in Professional Game Companionship

This study investigates the emerging digital labor practice of professional game companionship in China. Unlike traditional gig work, game companionship requires workers to provide both technical gaming skills and affective support, such as emotional comfort and atmosphere construction. Through semi-structured interviews with 22 practitioners, the researchers explore how these workers navigate the complex boundaries of paid intimacy and the multi-layered stakeholder networks that govern their labor.

A central contribution of this paper is the identification of the 'order-bound' mechanism. To protect their psychological well-being and maintain professional boundaries, companions engage in 'deep acting'—a form of emotional labor where they fully immerse themselves in the client's desired persona during the paid session. Crucially, this performance is strictly time-limited; once the order ends, the companion undergoes a complete emotional disengagement. This strategy allows workers to treat the gaming session as a discrete service encounter, preventing the commodified intimacy from bleeding into their private lives.

The study reveals that game companionship is not a solitary endeavor but is embedded in a tripartite network consisting of clients, companions, and companionship clubs. These relationships are characterized by scenario-based performances with clients, a mix of competition and symbiosis among peers, and an interdependent governance structure involving clubs. Furthermore, the researchers observed significant identity fluidity: individuals frequently transition between the roles of companion, client, and club operator. This fluidity is driven by the need for resource accumulation, career development, and the pursuit of emotional labor compensation.