Cordisco & Saile Podcast Examines Rise of Video Game Addiction Lawsuits and Parental Awareness

Attorneys discuss emerging litigation over addictive game design and its impact on families.

PHILADELPHIA, PA, UNITED STATES, October 22, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The latest episode of The Injury Pros Podcast from Cordisco & Saile takes on a fast-growing area of legal and social concern: the wave of lawsuits alleging that popular video games are intentionally engineered to be addictive.

The episode titled, titled “Built to Hook? Video Game Addiction, Lawsuits, and What Parents Should Know,” features host Michael Saile, attorney and founding partner of Cordisco & Saile, in conversation with John Cordisco, senior partner and co-founder. The discussion explores how these emerging cases are structured as mass torts and multidistrict litigations (MDLs), and how design features in top-selling games mimic gambling-style reward systems that can foster compulsive play.

Cordisco notes that many families are being drawn into this issue without realizing the extent of the manipulation.

“The perception that often gets attached to this issue is that parents just need to ‘do better’ and control their kids’ screen time,” said John Cordisco. “But that misses the real issue, the manipulation tactics built into these games are creative, powerful, and often undisclosed. Parents weren’t warned these mechanisms even existed, and even the most engaged parents are struggling to see what’s really happening.”

The episode discusses what kinds of evidence can help demonstrate harm — from play-time logs and purchase histories to counseling and school records — and offers insight into warning signs such as late-night gaming, declining grades, mood swings, and social withdrawal. The hosts also consider how litigation could spur safer design standards across the gaming industry, drawing parallels to the impact of tobacco and opioid litigation on public health and consumer protection.

Across the United States, lawsuits are mounting. Plaintiffs have filed in multiple jurisdictions alleging that companies behind games such as Fortnite, Roblox, Minecraft, and Call of Duty used psychological reward systems, micro-transactions and social-loop mechanics to create addictive experiences.

In 2025, parent-plaintiffs requested that the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) consolidate these actions into a single MDL; the panel has thus far declined consolidation, citing “lack of common factual questions,” meaning that many cases continue individually.

Alternatively, many legal scholars and firms describe this wave as “the next mass tort frontier,” pointing out that although the path ahead is untested in scale, the potential liability and industry-impact are significant.

“Built to Hook? Video Game Addiction, Lawsuits, and What Parents Should Know” is available now on The Injury Pros Podcast, wherever podcasts are streamed.

Listen at the injurypros.com.

Alex Lerch
Cordisco & Saile LLC
+1 2156422335
alerch@cordiscosaile.com
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Built to Hook? Video Game Addiction, Lawsuits, and Parent Info with John Cordisco & Michael Saile

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