Abstract Video games have been a unique study context for computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) researchers for decades. However, despite their collaborative richness, CSCW has not yet developed a systematic understanding of video games as a site for studying cooperation and social interaction—limiting its ability to engage with the increasingly social, digital, and playful nature of work. Particularly, what are the academic characteristics of video game studies? What topics are studied in the context of video games? And what are the unique facets of the video game context? To answer these questions, we conducted a systematic literature review by analyzing 67 studies of video games published in CSCW outlets between 1998 and 2023. We describe these studies’ academic characteristics and the topics studied in the context of video games through seven themes. We further identify six unique facets of collaborative work that scholars gain through game studies. We conclude that video games not only serve as an empirically rich site for examining and enriching existing CSCW theories and frameworks, but also constitute unique and oftentimes novel sociotechnical configurations that recontextualize CSCW. We further point to gaps, opportunities, and future directions for CSCW researchers interested in exploring the diverse social and collaborative dynamics in games, thus contributing to a more inclusive and expansive understanding of collaboration in digitally mediated environments.

Fake games are an emerging form of games characterized by misleading advertising (external referent) and perceived inauthenticity in gameplay (internal referent). While previous research has examined game authenticity, deceptive advertising, and game design, there is a lack of understanding about why players engage with fake games despite their deceptive nature and how they cope with the fakeness of these games. To address these questions, we conducted an interview study with 30 mobile game players. Through reflexive thematic analysis, we identified four motivations for playing fake games, such as curiosity and easy entertainment, and four coping mechanisms, including adaptive and reconciled play. We discuss how players uniquely interact with the fakeness of fake games and how these games form a distinct ecosystem at the intersection of digital platforms, digital marketplaces, and game developers. We conclude with implications for research and design to mitigate their impact and improve the gaming environment.

Predatory monetization in video games refers to purchasing systems that hide or postpone the complete financial consequences until players are already deeply committed, both financially and emotionally. These systems manipulate players into spending against their genuine interests, benefiting game companies while causing potential financial harm. This issue has drawn increasing scholarly and societal attention, but little research has explored how players perceive the influence of predatory monetization on their gaming experiences. Through an interview study with 23 players of popular user-generated games hosted on platforms such as Roblox and Minecraft and a reflexive thematic analysis, we identified three key influences of predatory monetization: felt manipulation, monetized interpersonal relationships, and risks with mitigation strategies. We further describe social monetization, where monetization and players’ social experiences are closely intertwined, as well as the ecosystem of predatory monetization, where multiple stakeholders play interconnected roles in enabling and sustaining predatory monetization practices. Finally, we offer design implications for mitigating the negative influences of predatory monetization.

Financial trading has become commonplace, involving the purchase and sale of securities such as stocks and bonds. While HCI research has investigated people’s financial literacy and decision-making and how to design for it, little is known as to how people form financial conversations on social media. To answer this question, we used a grounded theory approach to analyzing financial conversations in the YOLO (‘you only live once’) posts on the r/WallStreetBets subreddit (WSB), one of today’s largest financial online communities. We describe how WSB’s discursive culture portrays its gambling-like, high-risk trading by likening trading to gambling, celebrating it, and normalizing financial risk-taking. We discuss the rise of social investing, including how individual investors’ affective relationships encourage their outsized risk-taking, as well as reflect on its looming financial risks, especially to already marginalized groups. Lastly, we propose implications for design and policymaking.

Mobile games have become highly popular and profitable. While much work has been done to understand deceptive patterns of games and some unethical practices they apply, little is known about fake games, an emergent phenomenon in mobile gaming. To answer this question, we conducted two studies: a walkthrough method to characterize fake games, and a thematic analysis of user reviews to gain understanding from the user perspective. We found five types of misalignments that render a game fake and identified four primary facets of player experience with fake games. These misalignments act as realization points in the users' decision-making to define games as being fake. We discuss the fakeness of fake games, how the formation of an ecosystem helps with the circulation of fakeness, as well as challenges to governing fake games. Lastly, we propose implications for research and design on how to mitigate and identify fake games.

An increasing number of game platforms, such as Roblox, enable game creators to develop user-generated games (UGGs). Yet, these platforms often come under scrutiny for hosting UGGs that contain harmful content, ranging from sexually explicit material to Nazi-themed roleplay. Limited attention has been paid to how harmful UGGs are ideated by game creators. To address this question, we studied an online Roblox creator community, where Roblox creators collectively engage in design ideation to brainstorm design ideas for UGGs. Through an inductive thematic analysis, we found three primary ways where Roblox creators' design ideation becomes risky, including how Roblox creators generate risky game design ideas, navigate through policy boundaries to develop these ideas, and share strategies of bypassing moderation. Based on our findings, we discuss ethical and governance challenges facing user-generated games. We propose design implications to support game creators in developing ethical game design ideas and safe game designs.

Toxicity in online games refers to behaviors where players disrupt the gaming experience of others, leading to adverse outcomes such as depression and low self-esteem. Although scholars have identified various factors contributing to toxicity, ranging from individual motivations to team dynamics to cultural backgrounds, the role of game design has been less frequently discussed. To bridge this gap, we conducted an interview study to explore players' perceptions of how game design influences toxicity. Our research identified four game design elements that participants perceived as contributing factors to the emergency of toxicity in their experiences: team interdependency, fairness, interaction design, and privacy. These findings help us shed light on how game design unintendedly triggers toxic intentions, exposes players to vulnerability, making them potential victims, and affects player interactions which lead to toxicity. We further propose design implications that can mitigate toxicity in online games.