The Cultural Impact of Video Games: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Abstract

The growing relevance of video games in the social landscape requires an in-depth evaluation of the bidirectional influences of these adjacent contexts, among which the educational and cultural contexts stand out. This permeability allows the study of the cultural aspects surrounding the production and use of video games as tools for cultural dissemination. Our research enunciates, recognises, analyses and evaluates the impact of these tools with the aim of being taken into consideration by the scientific community and the general population, who most frequently consume, use and socialise through video games around the world. Based on this, a systematic literature review (SLR) was carried out using the Prisma 2020 Protocol, using the WOS and SCOPUS databases as documentary sources, and the selection of research articles that explore the cultural aspects of video games according to pre-established criteria. The final sample (N = 45) was subjected to a study that posed 12 research questions around which this work is structured. As a result, it is evident that video games have a direct impact on the transmission of culture. Patterns and agents of cultural representation, transmission and communication were identified, allowing researchers to evaluate the impact of video games on culture and to approach this object of study from an academic perspective, helping to open up other lines of research related to the influence of video games on the assimilation of culture, the learning of relevant issues related to it or the transmission of specific cultural elements.

Keywords

• video games
• culture
• cultural studies
• cultural transmission
• digital culture