According to self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000), human behaviors are driven and regulated by three basic psychological drives, namely autonomy, competence, and relatedness, and the present study aims at examining the hypothesis that perceived dissatisfaction of these three basic needs acts as a risk factor of video game addiction among Chinese young adult players. We have surveyed 165 Chinese young adult players with average age of 23 years, and found that perceived autonomy, competence, and relatedness are negatively correlated with video game addiction symptoms. In regression analysis, perceived relatedness emerges as the most salient “need” factor of game addiction in this Chinese young adult sample. Furthermore, men significantly report more game addiction symptoms than their counterparts. The plausible mechanism of how the three STD’s basic needs increase young people’s susceptibility of video game addiction in Chinese cultural context will be discussed.