“…Vivid and interactive media can elicit the psychological perception of "being there" in the depicted environment and individuals consequently perceive the media environment to be unmediated and real (Hartmann et al, 2016;Lom-bard & Ditton, 1997;Steuer, 1992;Wirth et al, 2007). Presence can act as a facilitator of various media effects (Schultze, 2010), such as media enjoyment (e.g., Hartmann, Klimmt, & Vorderer, 2010), persuasion (e.g., Kim & Biocca, 1997), and parasocial interactions (e.g., Jin, 2010;Schramm & Hartmann, 2008;Shin et al, 2019). Based on earlier research on VR gaming and theoretical considerations, the following hypothesis is proposed.…”