Everything You Need to Know about EndeavorRX, the World’s First Prescription Video Game

Can you imagine your doctor prescribing you a video game?

It’s pretty tough to imagine unless your physician is Dr. Mario. And let’s be real: he never even completed medical school, and who knows what the hell is in those pills of his.

However, the FDA recently approved the world’s first prescription video game, called EndeavorRX. What is EndeavorRX and what does it treat? Let’s dive into a whole new age of digital medicine.

What is EndeavorRX?

The prescription video game is called EndeavorRX. It comes from Akili Interactive and previously went by the name Project EVO. It will be releasing on both the iPhone and the iPad (sorry, Android users).

What is the gameplay like? Nobody is sure just yet, but the trailer makes it look like a futuristic racer set in a world of colorful settings and characters. You fly a hovercraft through different kinds of terrain and you can take control of a wide assortment of characters. Your goal is to dodge obstacles and collect various tokens.

While gamers of all ages may be tempted to give it a try, this simplistic game was designed with gamers 8–12 years old in mind. Furthermore, it’s designed for gamers with a very specific condition.

What does EndeavorRX treat?

So, what is the world’s first prescription video game designed to treat? ADHD!

EndeavorRX has been in development and testing for a very long time. In fact, it took a whopping seven years of clinical trials before it gained FDA approval.

The result of all those trials, though, is that the FDA feels this game could make a positive impact in treating ADHD. It works by targeting certain areas of the brain experiencing “cognitive disfunction” and treating those areas.

And it’s because of this FDA approval that a doctor can actually prescribe EndeavorRX for children with ADHD.