The Influence of Influencer Marketing and Lifestyle on Purchase Decisions of Virtual Game Product Mobile Legends: Bang Bang

Understanding the impact of Influencer Marketing and Lifestyle on the Purchase Decisions of the online virtual game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is the primary objective of this research. The population under research consists of Mobile Legends players who are students in Surabaya and have purchased a skin hero in the game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and used it during gameplay. This research utilized a non-probability sampling method with a purposive sampling technique. The sample size for this research was 110 respondents. Data for this research was collected through questionnaire responses from the respondents as well as from various sources such as books, articles, and journals. The analytical tool employed in this research was Partial Least Squares (PLS). The findings of the research indicated that both Influencer Marketing and Lifestyle had a significant impact on the Purchase Decision for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.

Understanding the impact of Influencer Marketing and Lifestyle on the Purchase Decisions of the online virtual game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is the primary objective of this research. The population under research consists of Mobile Legends players who are students in Surabaya and have purchased a skin hero in the game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and used it during gameplay. This research utilized a non-probability sampling method with a purposive sampling technique. The sample size for this research was 110 respondents. Data for this research was collected through questionnaire responses from the respondents as well as from various sources such as books, articles, and journals. The analytical tool employed in this research was Partial Least Squares (PLS). The findings of the research indicated that both Influencer Marketing and Lifestyle had a significant impact on the Purchase Decision for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.

INTRODUCTION
In the current era, the development of the internet is expanding and progressing. This is marked by the increasing number of internet users, which leads to the emergence of new phenomena, particularly in the field of the gaming industry. According to data from (Newzoo Global Games Market Report, 2022), globally, the number of gamers in 2020 was around 2.9 billion players. In 2022, the number of players increased to approximately 3.2 billion, and it is expected to further rise in 2025. Despite the increasing number of players, the revenue of the gaming industry declined in 2022. Data from the Global Games Market Report indicates that in 2021, the gaming industry revenue reached $192.7 billion, but in 2022, there was a decrease of -4.3% to $184.4 billion. This is because in 2022, individuals have returned to being busy with their respective activities. Considering that 2020 and 2021 were years marked by the COVID pandemic, many people chose to spend their time playing game onlines during lockdown periods.
As technology continues to advance, it also influences the world of technology-based sports, commonly known as e-sports (electronic sports). It is not the first time that Mobile Legends: Bang Bang has been included as a competitive game in the SEA Games 2023 held in Cambodia, and Indonesia is one of the participating countries (Oneesports.id, 2023). An example of an esport favored by youth today is the game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is one of the MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) games that is widely played by the Indonesian population, particularly by teenagers and adults. The majority of e-sports players, accounting for nearly 50%, are young individuals aged between 20 and 29 years old (Games.grid.id, 2019). This age group is predominantly composed of college students, as evidenced by the numerous Mobile Legends: Bang Bang events or tournaments held on campuses. Many Mobile Legends: Bang Bang players not only engage in gameplay but also make purchases of virtual products such as skin hero. The availability of virtual products contributes to the increasing revenue of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang game year after year.
The revenue generated by Mobile Legends: Bang Bang game is closely related to influencer marketing, with one of the prominent influencers being Jess No Limit, a Mobile Legends gamer. Influencer marketing is defined as a marketing strategy that involves the participation of influencers on social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media channels (Prasetya et al., 2021). With the presence of influencer marketing, individuals can easily obtain important information about a product they intend to purchase. Influencers can provide recommendations to others in making purchase decisions for a particular product. This phenomenon occurs because many people perceive influencers as public figures who serve as role models for their followers.
As time and technology progress, lifestyle becomes closely intertwined with these developments. Lifestyle is an individual's expression of their life, including their activities, interests, and opinions. Individuals tend to have everchanging lifestyles that adapt to the current times. One's lifestyle can be understood as their way of living based on behavioral patterns resulting from the interaction of personal characteristics, social relationships, and socioeconomic and environmental conditions. (Suhardi, 2019).
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang game has become a current trend. This can be proven by the significant number of downloads of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang game on the Play Store, with over 500 million downloads (Play Store Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, 2023). Most Mobile Legends: Bang Bang players consider it as a competitive platform against other players. The existence of a feature in the game called Win Rate further motivates Mobile Legends: Bang Bang players to strive and give their best in order to improve their Win Rate. This is consistent with the nature of teenagers who always follow the existing trends, especially in the case of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang players. They tend to want to stand out from other players by owning virtual products in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, such as skin hero. It brings a sense of joy and pride to players when they have a wide variety of skin hero.
Considering the aforementioned phenomenon, a title can be formulated as "The Influence of Influencer Marketing and Lifestyle on Purchase Decisions of Virtual Game Product online Mobile Legends: Bang Bang". The purpose of this research is to determine the impact of Influencer Marketing and Lifestyle on the purchase decisions of virtual products in the game online Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.

LITERATURE REVIEW Influencer Marketing
Influencer, or influence, has the meaning of having an impact on an individual, thing, or situation. According to Kotler & Keller (2016), influencer marketing refers to someone who can influence others in making purchase decisions. This is because an influencer can assist individuals in determining information and specifications to select among various alternative choices. According to Wahyudi (2022), an influencer is an individual who can influence consumer purchase decisions by providing explanations and specifications of products and sharing information about ratings or reviews of items. Indicators of influencer marketing, as identified by Hariyanti & Wirapraja (2018) include information, motivation, role, and status.

Lifestyle
Lifestyle is defined as an individual's activities, interests, and opinions that reflect their patterns of living in their surrounding environment (Pratiwi & Patrikha, 2021). How one spends their time (activities), makes choices in life (interests), and thinks about themselves and the surrounding environment (opinions) constitute the definition of an individual's lifestyle (Astuti & Hasbi, 2020). Meanwhile, according to Nasib et al. (2022, p.39), an individual or group's lifestyle varies and evolves dynamically, making it relatively permanent and less prone to quick changes. Indicators of lifestyle, as stated by (Cannon et al., 2011) include Activities, Interests, and Opinions.

Purchase Decisions
Kotler & Amstrong (2008) argue that purchase decisions involve a series of steps that individuals go through before deciding to buy a product. Kurniawan & Susanti (2019) define purchase decision as the direct involvement and selection of a product offered by a seller. According to Kotler & Amstrong (2016), indicators of purchase decisions include: 1) Commitment to purchase after obtaining product information; 2) Choosing to buy based on preferred brands; 3) Purchasing based on personal desires and needs; 4) Making a purchase based on recommendations from others.

The Relationship between Influencer Marketing and Purchase Decisions
Several previous studies by (Sari & Hidayat, 2021); (Lengkawati & Saputra, 2021); dan (Fathurrahman et al., 2021), have concluded that influencer marketing has a positive and significant influence on purchase decisions. Individuals are more likely to make a purchase decision when they see a high number of followers or subscribers of an influencer. Therefore, it can be inferred that influencer marketing has a positive impact on purchase decisions. This leads to the following hypothesis: H1: Influencer marketing has a positive influence on the purchase decision of virtual products in the game online Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.

The Relationship between Lifestyles and Purchase Decisions
Several previous studies by (Pratiwi & Patrikha, 2021); (Suhardi, 2019); and (Triadi et al., 2021), have concluded that lifestyle has a positive and significant influence on purchase decisions. Therefore, it can be inferred that lifestyle has a positive impact on purchase decisions. This leads to the following hypothesis: H2: Lifestyle has a positive influence on the purchase decision of virtual products in the game online Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.

METHODOLOGY Population and Sample
The population consists of the complete set of units of the objects or subjects being studied, and logical reasoning serves as the basis for drawing conclusions. A sample, on the other hand, represents the entire research objects within the population, but only a portion of them is selected and considered as a representative of the entire population, collected using specific techniques. In this research, the sample is obtained through non-probability sampling method, specifically purposive sampling technique, due to specific characteristics. The selected sample must meet the predetermined criteria outlined below: 1. The student in Surabaya. 2. A player of the game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. 3. Has previously purchased virtual products in the form of skin hero in the game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and used them simultaneously in the game. Since the population is unknown, the sample size is determined using the measurement according to Ghozali (2011) with a parameter of 5-10. Due to the presence of 11 indicators and choosing a parameter of 10, the total number of respondents is obtained as 110 (11 x 10 = 110).

Types of Data
Primary data and secondary data are two categories of data required for the research. Primary data refers to data obtained directly from respondents' answers in the questionnaire. On the other hand, secondary data is collected through literature sources such as journals, theses, books, the internet, and other relevant sources related to this research.

Data Collection Method
The data was collected using a questionnaire distribution method, which contained respondents' personal information, research statements, and answer choices. Additionally, literature review was conducted, where the researcher collected data or information from various sources such as journals, scientific articles, books, and so on.

Data Analysis Technique
Considering that this research is of a quantitative nature, the analysis technique used is Partial Least Squares (PLS), which is a multivariate statistical technique capable of handling multiple response and exploratory variables simultaneously. In Table 2, it can be concluded that the respondents are predominantly students from UPN "Veteran" East Java, with a total of 44 respondents (40%). Table 3. Outer Loading Source: Data Processed, 2023

Outer Model
In   Influencer marketing has a positive and significant impact on purchase decisions, with a path coefficient value of 0.415 and a T-statistic of 4.221 > 1.96 (from the Z-value where α = 0.05 (5%) = 1.96). Furthermore, lifestyle has a positive and significant impact on purchase decisions, with a path coefficient value of 0.376 and a T-statistic of 3.527 > 1.96 (from the Z-value where α = 0.05 (5%) = 1.96).

DISCUSSION The Influence of Influencer Marketing on Purchase Decisions
The hypothesis can be accepted when considering the findings from the conducted research, which demonstrate that Influencer Marketing has a significant positive impact on the purchase decisions of virtual products in the game online Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. The conclusion is that the more famous and effective an influencer is in delivering information, the greater their influence will be on the purchase decisions of virtual products in the game online Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. It can be observed that the indicator of influence has the highest factor loading value. This refers to the influence of an influencer, such as creating compelling content Review Skin Hero in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, which attracts a large number of viewers. This research is supported by the research conducted by Zukhrufani & Zakiy (2019), Prasetya et al. (2021), and Uyuun & Dwijayanti (2022), which state that Influencer Marketing has a significant positive impact on Purchase Decisions.

The Influence of Lifestyle on Purchase Decisions
The hypothesis can be accepted when considering the findings from the conducted research, which demonstrate that lifestyle has a significant positive impact on the purchase decisions of virtual products in the game online Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. The conclusion is that the more individuals adopt a trendy lifestyle by expressing their lives through playing Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, the more it will positively influence their purchase decisions of virtual products in the game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. It can be observed that the opinion indicator has the highest factor loading value. This indicates an individual's opinion about the skin hero in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, which have good performance and quality. This research is consistent with the research conducted by Zukhrufani & Zakiy (2019), Astawa (2022), and Kadeari & Heryanda (2021),who stated that Lifestyle has a significant positive impact on Purchase Decisions.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the test results using Smart PLS analysis to examine the relationship between Influencer Marketing and Lifestyle towards the purchasing decisions of virtual products in the game online Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, it can be concluded that: (1) Influencer marketing contributes to the purchasing decisions of virtual products in the game online Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. (2) Lifestyle contributes to the purchasing decisions of virtual products in the game online Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.
With these conclusions, several recommendations have been established to provide benefits, namely: Moonton company, as the creator of the game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, should continue to pay attention to an influencer who consistently creates engaging content, in order to further pique the interest of consumers (game players) and encourage them to make purchases of virtual products in the game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Furthermore, Moonton company must maintain the quality and performance of skin hero in order to generate more enthusiasm among players of the game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang to make purchases of virtual products in the form of skin hero.