Purpose: This study investigates how engagement marketing influences the decision to buy Robux among Generation Z players of Roblox in Bandung, Indonesia, with gaming addiction acting as an intermediary factor.
Research Methodology: A quantitative explanatory approach was employed using questionnaire data from 350 Generation Z respondents, analyzed via PLS-SEM with SmartPLS 4 and 5,000 bootstrapping resamples.
Results: Engagement marketing significantly influenced gaming addiction (β = 0.665, T = 24.175, p < 0.001) and purchase decisions (β = 0.625, T = 16.125, p < 0.001). Gaming addiction significantly affected purchase decisions (β = 0.312, T = 7.260, p < 0.001) and partially mediated the engagement marketing–purchase decision relationship (indirect β = 0.207, T = 7.349, p < 0.001), explaining 74.7% of the purchase decision variance (R² = 0.747).
Conclusions: Engagement marketing influences Robux purchase decisions both directly and indirectly through gaming addiction, confirming partial mediation. Platform designers should balance engagement strategies with responsible gaming safeguards, particularly for minor users.
Limitations: The findings are limited to Roblox users in Bandung City and employ a cross-sectional design, restricting causal inference and generalizability.
Contributions: This study identifies gaming addiction as a behavioral mediator between engagement marketing and virtual currency purchase decisions within a UGC-based creator economy platform.