ES News email The latest headlines in your inbox twice a day Monday - Friday plus breaking news updates Enter your email address Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in Register with your social account or click here to log in I would like to receive lunchtime headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts, by email Update newsletter preferences

A new game called Fortnite: Battle Royale inspired by the Hunger Games has been deemed worryingly addictive by parents.

The interactive game of survival invites children to create a superhero avatar and compete against each other on a dystopian island.

Each match begins with 100 players. Competitors then have to out-live the other players in order to win the game.

Children can team up with their friends to create a "squad" adding a social element to the game.

Players can roam the virtual island and pick up weapons including bow and arrows, rifles and grenades to defend themselves.

The game which is free to download and available on Xbos and IOS, has proven to be immensely popular among young teens, but some parents have raised concerns that it could become too addictive.

One mum Amy Selling wrote on her blog Lulu and Lattes: “My kids have played community based games on XBOX live but this is a different animal. This is the unleavened bread of video games.

“Why? They are getting together with their friends, talking on headsets, having multi person conference calls for hours, for God sakes they are forgetting to bathe.”

She continued: “But the addictive (sic) aspect to it is the fact that the kids are playing in groups and on teams which requires them to use strategy and, most importantly, to communicate with each other in real-time.”

Dr Linda Papadopoulos, psychologist and Internet Matters Ambassador told the MailOnline: “What you have to remember is that the metric for any online game, or indeed social media platform, is the 'time spent' on it,'

“As such, these games are designed to make it hard to stop playing. Behavioural scientists are employed to ensure that the brain's reward system is manipulated so that kids feel so excited and engaged that they just can't stop playing.

“Do you really think a 12-year-old is going to win against a Silicon Valley-employed behavioural scientist?”

Earlier in the year the World Health Organisation defined a condition known as gaming disorder.

The organisation described the disorder as “characterised by impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests and daily activities, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences.”

The game has become a global phenomenon with adults as well as kids taking part.

Rapper Drake released a video of himself playing it online last month. His clip has already been viewed 600,000 times.

The game was discussed on ITV’s This Morning where parents called in complaining that their children could not be pried away from their screens.

Mum Suzanne claimed that son Leo’s attitude switched when she told him to stop playing the game.

She said: “I had to tell him you’re not acting the way you normally act. The game is so full of energy and adrenaline that when you pull them off they are screaming at the television; they’re hiding, they’re calling each other, they are living in it with their friends.”

Psychologist Emma Kenny said there were some positive aspects to the game as it encouraged strategic thinking and forward planning.

But she advised parents to set boundaries for their children and to provide them with alternatives to the screen.

She said: "You have to create some scenarios and create some boundaries and make kids aware they are only allowed a certain amount of time on the game.

"It's all about creating opportunities to explore different activities."