Politics in Games -- An Overview and Classification

TL;DR

This paper analyzes political themes in video games, introduces a taxonomy for categorizing political content, and provides a foundation for future research on politics in gaming media.

Contribution

It presents the first taxonomy to classify political content in video games, based on a statistical analysis of politically-themed games on distribution platforms.

Findings

Identified patterns in politically-themed games

Developed a new taxonomy for political content in games

Laid groundwork for future research in politics and gaming

Abstract

The representation of politics in media influences societal perceptions and attitudes. Video games, as a pervasive form of media, contribute significantly to this phenomenon. In this work, we explore political themes within video games by analyzing politically-themed games on game distribution platforms including Steam. We conducted a statistical examination of games with political context to identify patterns and use this as a basis to introduce a first taxonomy to categorize and better understand the interplay between politics and video games. This taxonomy offers a first framework for analyzing political content in games and also sets a foundation for future research in this field.