Digital Games and Media
Digital Games and Media is a research topic within Sociology and Political Science. Science Explorer counts 36k research works in it since 1950. 21.2% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers explores the social and psychological aspects of online gaming, including motivations for play, gender dynamics, virtual economies, live streaming, and the impact of video games on individuals and society. It delves into topics such as gamer identity, toxic technocultures, labor in online games, and the portrayal of gender roles in video games.
- Online Gaming
- Video Games
- Esports
- Gender Dynamics
- Social Interaction
- Virtual Worlds
- Gamer Identity
- Live Streaming
- Game Culture
- Stereotypes
- Research works
- 36k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 7.7k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 21.2% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +16% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Digital Games and Media research?
By volume, the United States and the United Kingdom publish the most (1.6k and 611 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 United States 1.6k works
- 2 United Kingdom 611 works
- 3 China 547 works
- 4 Germany 433 works
- 5 Türkiye 321 works
- 6 Brazil 315 works
- 7 Spain 315 works
- 8 Australia 302 works
- 9 Canada 297 works
- 10 Indonesia 276 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Digital Games and Media research?
By volume in 2022–2025, Vincennes University publishes the most Digital Games and Media research, followed by The Institute for Education Research and Tampere University.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Vincennes UniversityUnited States 52 works
- 2 The Institute for Education Research?? 48 works
- 3 Tampere UniversityFinland 35 works
- 4 Film IndependentUnited States 31 works
- 5 University of TorontoCanada 29 works
- 6 Universidad Complutense de MadridSpain 27 works
- 7 Swinburne University of TechnologyAustralia 26 works
- 8 IT University of CopenhagenDenmark 24 works
- 9 The University of SydneyAustralia 24 works
- 10 University of AlbertaCanada 24 works
Who are the leading researchers in Digital Games and Media?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Digital Games and Media include James E. Gunn.
- 1 James E. Gunn United States 3.8k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Digital Games and Media research done?
The largest centres of Digital Games and Media research in 2022–2025 are London (United Kingdom), Beijing (China), Melbourne (Australia) and Istanbul (Türkiye). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Vincennes, Toronto and Tampere.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- VincennesUS · 52.1 works231×
- Toronto48.6 works90×
- TampereFI · 36.1 works13×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Digital Games and Media than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Digital Games and Media?
Among universities, judged by research, Tampere University, Manchester Metropolitan University and University of California, Santa Cruz score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tampere UniversityFinland | 74.7 | 40.6% | 15.5× | 35 | +66.4% |
| 2 | Manchester Metropolitan UniversityUnited Kingdom | 70.5 | 44.8% | 10.6× | 14 | +100.6% |
| 3 | University of California, Santa CruzUnited States | 59.7 | 35.6% | 12.0× | 18 | -6.9% |
| 4 | University of MaltaMalta | 59.1 | 22.4% | 9.7× | 10 | +312.3% |
| 5 | University of AveiroPortugal | 59.0 | 27.7% | 6.5× | 17 | +219.2% |
| 6 | University of YorkUnited Kingdom | 57.9 | 30.4% | 6.8× | 16 | +143.4% |
| 7 | Swinburne University of TechnologyAustralia | 57.3 | 14.9% | 12.4× | 26 | +53.1% |
| 8 | Utrecht UniversityNetherlands | 57.1 | 45.2% | 4.9× | 20 | +22.6% |
| 9 | University of TurkuFinland | 56.3 | 25.6% | 8.1× | 18 | +86.8% |
| 10 | RMIT UniversityAustralia | 56.3 | 35.3% | 5.9× | 17 | +53.9% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Digital Games and Media research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 16% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2024. The fastest-growing topics are Digital Games and Media.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.