I don't know that looking at games as a release is necessarily a great vantage point, but they can certainly be seen as a haven for fun if you approach them with an open mind.

For me it was more of a switch from how I played vs what I played. I got into online MMOs some years ago and (like a lot of things I do in my life...) I threw myself into them for a while like a loony. I found I was investing far too much time and energy organizing events, raids, builds, spreadsheets, people, personalities, drama, ugh. It was like going to work for heaven's sake! 😂

Eventually I got burned out and stopped completely. When COVID hit, of course going out wasn't an option so I got back into playing more again but realized that I could still have fun without the whole hardcore approach. I became, for lack of a better description, part of the "filthy casuals" lol - something I have never for a minute regretted. My time is my own, I chase what I like, meet others in game, and just plain have fun now.