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If someone is addicted to a false world, instead of treating it like an opioid habit perhaps it is because that false world supplies something the real one does not or cannot. World of Warcraft, for example, puts people into a tribal survival and adventure setting. You can even form clans, like families, and work together for achievements. Our modern lifestyle is very far removed from our humanity because we adapted ourselves to live in an adventurous climate. The emphasis is more on personal achievement than familial coorperation, and the larger and farther reaching our systems of laws become, the less human we become. Our inherent need for conflict comes out in the popularity of competitive games. Striving against each other makes us stronger and smarter. A life without conflict is a weak life. Bonobos and chimpanzees are close enough related to mate, however their differing environments and physiology make them dissimilar enough to be considered different species. Physically, chimps are much more powerful and also more intelligent than bonobos due to conflict between and within chimp tribes, and predators that dont exist on the bonobos island. Consider that different populations of humanity have had similar splits. The Irish lived on an island and had a brutal culture of art and war that lasted for thousands of years. They fought against each other for dominance over their island and Irish men were bred to be warriors. This in contrast to the Bashada and other tribes in Ethiopia who have a culture of peaceful cooperation and a reliance on conflict resolution with violence as a last resort. These differing cultures came to be because of scarcity of resources. In the harsh desert climate, the more you can rely on your neighboring tribes the better chances you have for survival. In Ireland, resources were more plentiful and so the culture evolved to be one of dominance and submission. Families were tighter knit and there was less of a need to be at peace with neighboring clans.
Fast forward to today, where we have a culture where cooperation is enforced by the dominant powers, there is relatively little conflict with nature, then add this to our mixed genetics and it is easy to see why some people would rather spend their lives fighting against others in a video game. Some people need that conflict to survive. If they have nothing to fight against they sink like stones. Video game addiction isnt so much addiction to the game itself, but rather a need to express what our genetics need. Conflict.