An Auto-netnographic Approach to Understanding Alternate Gaming Accounts: How Smurfing Impacts the Prosumer Experience in Counter-Strike:Global Offensive

Esport-based game titles, such as Counter-Strike:Global Offensive, represent platforms where players simultaneously consume and produce content as prosumers. Through peer-to-peer presumption, these players co-create value between themselves to drive a range of emotional and social outcomes. Smurfing is the act of higher skilled players utilizing alternate game accounts to play with lower skilled players resulting in unbalanced competitive experiences. This study combines an auto-netnographic approach with interviews to provide novel insights on this pervasive phenomenon. Through combining perspectives of regular players and those who engage in smurfing, three key themes are identified. Smurfing is embedded within gaming platforms, driven by complex motivations, and framed as cheating according to perspective.