Center for Game Research

Center for Game Research

The central hub for disseminating game research from Utrecht University

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    • Dutch Games Association: Generative AI and Video Games Event @Utrecht University
    • Dutch DiGRA Symposium 2025: Futures for Game Research
    • Game Research @ CHI 2025
    • Shape2Gether: Experiencing the Bochum Summer School
    • Hybrid Franchise Hacking Workshop (Gamelab x Man Met)
  • Most viewed

    • Dutch DiGRA Symposium 2025: Futures for Game Research
    • Funded PhD position: Playing the Hidden Curriculum
    • PhD Position in Player-Centric Video Game AI
    • History of Game Research at Utrecht University
    • Playing the Hidden Curriculum

All Rise — an inappropriately joyous game about fighting for the planet

“We’re clashing Phoenix Wright, Disco Elysium and narrative deck building with the ecological crisis — to help fund real court cases.”

Editorial Team
10-02-2024 // Insights, News // Games and Sustainability

Dark seasonality in videogames

“Dark seasonality in videogames” is a chapter in the larger book Changing Seasonality: How Communities are Revising their Seasons, which explores the role of calendars, seasons, and the cultural reaffirmations (or choice not to) thereof.

Editorial Team
29-01-2024 // Books, Insights // Criticism and Analysis, Games and Sustainability
ABZU

Ecogames: Playful Perspectives on the Climate Crisis

Ecogames: Playful Perspectives on the Climate Crisis brings together authors who explore the aspects of ecocritical engagement in and through games.

Editorial Team
22-01-2024 // Books // Criticism and Analysis, Games and Sustainability

Research Projects

>> All Research Projects

Toxic Behaviors in Multiplayer Games

Game Research @ CHI 2025

The latest installment of the ACM (Association of Computing Machinery) CHI conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems took place in Yokohama, Japan from April 26 to May 01, 2025. CHI is the premier international conference of Human-Computer Interaction and had a record attendance with more than 5200 on-site attendees this year. Researchers from the

dr. Julian Frommel, dr. Johannes Pfau
14-05-2025 // Events, News // Ethics of Play, Game Technology and AI, Social Games and Play
  • Events:

    Game Research @Dutch DiGRA 2024 Symposium

  • Events, Insights:

    Game Research @CHI PLAY 2024!

Shape2Gether - Erasmus+

Shape2Gether: Experiencing the Bochum Summer School

This is a reflection of the third and final “summer” school of the Shape2Gether Erasmus+ project that took place a month ago in Bochum, Germany.

12-05-2025 // Education, Events // Games and Sustainability, Games Beyond Entertainment
  • Education, Events:

    Shape2Gether: Experiencing the Malta summer school

  • Education, Events:

    Shape2Gether: Experiencing the Trondheim Summer School

STRATEGIES

Hybrid Franchise Hacking Workshop (Gamelab x Man Met)

On April 30th 2025, the Utrecht Gamelab and the Manchester Game Centre at Manchester Metropolitan University collaborated on a first-of-its-kind hybrid three-hour co-design workshop, building on the work of Chloe Germaine and Paul Wake on ‘game hacking’ and the ‘franchise hacking’ technique developed by the Utrecht Game Lab on the basis of Germaine and Wake’s

07-05-2025 // Education, Events // Criticism and Analysis, Game Design, Games and Sustainability
  • Education, Events:

    Franchise Hacking Workshop (Gamelab x WUR Games Hub)

  • In the media, Interview:

    In the media: “The game industry emits as much as the whole of The Netherlands”

Crisis to Resilience

Franchise Hacking Workshop (Gamelab x WUR Games Hub)

The workshop is part of the ongoing USO project Crisis to Resilience (2024-2027), which develops and evaluates techniques based on creative practices like game-making and community gardening/biophilia to foster resilience counter climate anxiety as well as other negative climate emotions. The workflow used in this workshop is built on top of free and accessible tools

16-04-2025 // Education, Events // Games and Sustainability
  • Events:

    Redesigning Monopoly to Foster Climate Resilience

  • Education, Events, Publications:

    History of Game Research at Utrecht University

Themes

>> All Themes

Game Technology and AI

Dutch Games Association: Generative AI and Video Games Event @Utrecht University

Everyone seems to have an opinion on generative AI — or at least 99% of Dutch developers do. And for better or worse, it’s clear that GenAI will impact this industry. That’s why Matthijs Dierckx and the Dutch Games Association organized an event about adoption, stance, and the general past, present and future of this

dr. Johannes Pfau
26-06-2025 // Events // Game Technology and AI
  • Events, News:

    Game Research @ CHI 2025

  • Jobs, News:

    PhD Position in Player-Centric Video Game AI

Ethics of Play

Game Research @ CHI 2025

The latest installment of the ACM (Association of Computing Machinery) CHI conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems took place in Yokohama, Japan from April 26 to May 01, 2025. CHI is the premier international conference of Human-Computer Interaction and had a record attendance with more than 5200 on-site attendees this year. Researchers from the

dr. Julian Frommel, dr. Johannes Pfau
14-05-2025 // Events, News // Ethics of Play, Game Technology and AI, Social Games and Play
  • Events, Insights:

    Game Research @CHI PLAY 2024!

  • Events, News, Publications:

    Game Research at CHI 2024

Social Games and Play

Game Research @CHI PLAY 2024!

The Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play (CHI PLAY) was recently held in Tampere, Finland. Our researchers were strongly involved in the organization (serving as papers chair, student volunteer chair, and workshop organizers) and presented a variety of contributions.

Editorial Team
25-10-2024 // Events, Insights // Ethics of Play, Game Technology and AI, Games Beyond Entertainment, Multi theme, Player Research and Psychology, Social Games and Play
  • Education, Insights, News:

    Playing the Hidden Curriculum

  • Events, News, Publications:

    Game Research at CHI 2024

Games and Sustainability

Shape2Gether: Experiencing the Bochum Summer School

This is a reflection of the third and final “summer” school of the Shape2Gether Erasmus+ project that took place a month ago in Bochum, Germany.

12-05-2025 // Education, Events // Games and Sustainability, Games Beyond Entertainment
  • Education, Events:

    Hybrid Franchise Hacking Workshop (Gamelab x Man Met)

  • Education, Events:

    Franchise Hacking Workshop (Gamelab x WUR Games Hub)

Disciplines

>> All Disciplines

Educational Sciences

Dutch DiGRA Symposium 2025: Futures for Game Research

Call for Abstracts Call for abstracts out now! The Digital Games Research Association is “An international association for academics and professionals who research digital games and associated phenomena.” Its aim is to stimulate high-quality research on games, and to “promote collaboration and dissemination of work by its members.” Aside from the main conference, countries may

Marijn Benschop, dr. Laura op de Beke
21-05-2025 // Events, Insights, News // Multi theme
  • Education, Events:

    Hybrid Franchise Hacking Workshop (Gamelab x Man Met)

  • Jobs:

    Funded PhD position: Playing the Hidden Curriculum

Geosciences

Shape2Gether: Experiencing the Bochum Summer School

This is a reflection of the third and final “summer” school of the Shape2Gether Erasmus+ project that took place a month ago in Bochum, Germany.

12-05-2025 // Education, Events // Games and Sustainability, Games Beyond Entertainment
  • Education, Events:

    Shape2Gether: Experiencing the Malta summer school

  • Education, Events:

    Shape2Gether: Experiencing the Trondheim Summer School

Anthropology

The main image from the original Center for Game Research website.

History of Game Research at Utrecht University

An overview of key moments in the history of game research at Utrecht University.

Marijn Benschop, Editorial Team
01-09-2000 // Education, Events, Publications // Multi theme

Media and Culture Studies

Hybrid Franchise Hacking Workshop (Gamelab x Man Met)

On April 30th 2025, the Utrecht Gamelab and the Manchester Game Centre at Manchester Metropolitan University collaborated on a first-of-its-kind hybrid three-hour co-design workshop, building on the work of Chloe Germaine and Paul Wake on ‘game hacking’ and the ‘franchise hacking’ technique developed by the Utrecht Game Lab on the basis of Germaine and Wake’s

07-05-2025 // Education, Events // Criticism and Analysis, Game Design, Games and Sustainability
  • Jobs:

    Funded PhD position: Playing the Hidden Curriculum

  • Education, Events:

    Franchise Hacking Workshop (Gamelab x WUR Games Hub)

Center for Game Research

Central hub for disseminating high-quality game research from Utrecht University to a diverse audience that includes academics, students, game developers, and journalists.

Contact

Drift 10, 3512 BS Utrecht

The Netherlands

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