Calling for Play-oriented Research on Blockchain Games: An Overview Study

Journal article, 2025

Blockchain video games, specifically video games using blockchain technology, are a trending topic in the media, technology community and business world. While blockchain video games are expected to transform the industry, little is known about how they are played and the players accordingly. The paper presents a 3-stage literature overview study on blockchain video games combining methods of topic modelling, bibliometric analysis, and narrative literature review. In a systematic approach, 1883 articles are screened. Language models are built on 1246 papers, and 70 articles directly related to blockchain video games have been analysed. The results indicate that most recent studies focus on blockchain technology and its financial characteristics instead of players. Hence, more play-oriented blockchain video game research is needed. Future studies may focus on different types of blockchain video games, game design and playability, players' experiences, and critical reviews.