Online mobile gaming has become extremely popular among all ages, specifically during COVID-19. It has become a language of communication for expressing oneself inside the home, physical community, and cyber community. Simultaneously, there is the introduction of the different modalities of online learning and the confinement of the learner’s stay at home. These have also served as a gateway to online gaming while learning or doing their academic requirement tasks. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the relationship of online mobile gaming to the learners’ academic performance, specifically to highly academic achiever students. This mixed-methods research study is grounded in Ryan and Deci’s Self-Determination Theory (SDT), providing a robust framework for examining the motivational dynamics at play. The researchers used the general weighted average (GWA) of thirty-nine first-honor Dean’s Lister respondents using adopted survey instruments to measure their gaming motivation. Consequently, most of the respondents are doing quite well in their academics, and they somewhat disagree to have a close, affectionate relationship with others. Lastly, the study also revealed that amotivation among the SDT factors has shown statistically significant evidence relationship on the respondents’ academic performance. Finally, the participants perceived that playing online mobile games provides relaxation and helps develop personal social skills.