How commercial video games engage with biodiversity and conservation: a systematic map of literature

We produced the first systematic map on how commercial video games engage with biodiversity and conservation. This includes 380 papers, five languages, 450 unique games, empirical and non-empirical literature, as well as an interactive online database of the available evidence. Non-empirical work often scrutinises the extent that game design encourages or condemns exploitation of nature. Empirical papers are overwhelmingly non-experimental; research most often explores how video games represent real-world wildlife, influence players’ ecological perceptions, or inform players’ interactions with virtual nature. Despite the volume of literature, it is difficult to infer the causal effects of video games – especially on driving real-world pro-ecological action. Our map highlights several promising areas for future study, such as: consider the role of player differences on the impact of games, observe actual behaviours and how these change after play, and pursue interdisciplinary collaborations with the games industry for more thorough, applicable, and novel findings.