What's your definition of a hardcore gamer?

[IcaroRibeiro]

That are different types of hardcore

The most easy to figure out is someone who put their time into being exceptional at a game or a group of games. They generally play competitively, we can say e-sports players are all hardcore

There are also the ones who use their time to breaking engines, discovering how they can change their interaction with games. Gaming for them is more than just playing, they try to understand the underlining mechanics of engines and game design. Think on guys who spend time datamining for example

I will say collector's and people who spend their time testing really obscure games can also be deemed as hardcore, specially if they follow developers interviews and make extensive record of games, styles, genres, etc, they are akin to cinema academics