In North America, excessive videogame use frequently co-occurs with negative mood (i.e., depression). Current literature provides mixed support for three different models of temporal precedence: the vulnerability model (depression precedes excessive gaming), the scar/complication model (excessive gaming precedes depression), and the reciprocal model. The present longitudinal study examined the directional associations between excessive gaming and depression, using a short-term, multi-wave study design. As a novel contribution to the field, this study examined excessive gaming in two distinct forms: gaming-related problems and time spent gaming. A sample of 289 participants from across North America completed a three-wave four-week study through Amazon Mechanical Turk. Participants filled out questionnaires at each wave (i.e., baseline, two weeks, one month) assessing time spent playing video games, intensity of gaming-related problems, and depression symptoms. Two cross-lagged panel models (CLPMs) were run to test the temporal associations between depression and excessive gaming, in terms of both time spent gaming and gaming-related problems. The first CLPM showed evidence for reciprocal effects between depression and gaming-related problems, though the effects over time were more consistent for depression preceding excessive gaming problems, lending support to the vulnerability model. The second CLPM showed no cross-lagged associations between depression and time spent gaming. Both models were invariant across gender. Results further knowledge of the temporal associations between depression and excessive gaming, as well as clarifies depression’s unique relation to gaming-related problems. Results support the utility of targeting depressive symptoms in young people with gaming problems.