my boyfriend (16M) and i (17F) play similar video games together. recently, we played a new horror game with a bunch of our other friends, called R.E.P.O. it’s a game where you collect valuable items and sell them at extraction points to get money — basically, like lethal company. there were a 6 of us playing in total, and i was just playing the game: collecting items, trying not to break them, running from monsters, all that stuff. we were all laughing and chatting together when suddenly my bf starts texting me off to the side saying how i’ve been ignoring him and not acknowledging him at all.

he claims he is begging me for my attention but i wasn’t ignoring him. we talked multiple times during the game and split up like the rest of the group either to find more items or run from monsters, but he still wasn’t happy with me. he also kept trying to knock me down but i didn’t realize because he was BEHIND me, and this is a first person POV game.

i asked him why he wasn’t happy and what i could do to fix it. he said he expected a normal conversation during the game and this sort of confused me because we are in a GAME.. why don’t we just play it? why stop and chat? but i said okay, let’s try and stick together when possible and i’ll try to acknowledge you more. the next game i spoke to him more often, try to stick to him even though i’m picking up items or scared of the monsters (i’m bad with horror games). but he texts me again and says still isn’t satisfied.

this time, he is upset bc it feels like i’m “trying too hard” to please him. at this point i’m starting to get annoyed because we are supposed to be playing the game with our friends and enjoying the time together, but instead he is making things unnecessarily complicated and acting as if i was 100% locked in — which i wasn’t, considering that i DID speak to him NUMEROUS times throughout the game. i was laughing, screaming (which is funny w friends), chatting, playing normally. like can’t we just enjoy the game

the only times i split from him were when i was running from a monster, we were obtaining a bunch of items, or helping my friend carry a really big item. i wasn’t constantly by his side, but hey i need to help my friends get items and hide. i can’t be there 24/7. i did speak to him throughout, like “where’d you go?” “come get this item with me”, statements related to the game because… well… we are playing a game. it was tough to stick together because monsters would chase us individually and we have to get away yk? there was just a lot going on

yet by the end he ended up leaving and getting mad at me. he said he wouldn’t play games with me anymore because of how i’m so focused on the game and not him. i’d get it if i just blatantly ignored him throughout our game, but i literally didn’t — i spoke to him as much as i spoke to my friends, which weren’t full conversations but SMALL TALK. so that annoyed me even more.

AITA for this? i feel like i kinda understand where he’s coming from but i also don’t. leaning towards the “i don’t get it” side tho.

TL;DR my bf and i were playing a horror game together with my friends. he claims that i don’t pay attention to him enough and ignore him when i literally speak to him AND our friends WHILE playing the game. he’s annoyed that i don’t stick to his side 24/7, fail to realize he’s behind me, or run off to grab items/hide from monsters. so AITA?