GV Research Days
The Gamevironments Research Day is a workshop exclusively for early-stage researchers, graduate students and doctoral students. It welcomes research on media-centered approaches, perspectives of game developers and publishers, and viewpoints of gamers. The workshop provides a unique opportunity for participants to engage in discussions and debates about theoretical approaches for studying the intersection of religion, culture, and video gaming. The workshop is held online and on site and provides a collaborative environment for scholars at all stages to learn together and expand and deepen the field of study.
Upcoming Research Days
BEYOND PLAY
Call for Applications for the gamevironments 2026 Research Days
November 5th to 6th
Online
The gamevironments Journal is hosting the 5th Annual Research Days. Exclusively for early-stage researchers, graduate students, and doctoral students, the workshop welcomes research on all aspects of games and gaming, including media-centered as well as actor-centered approaches, perspectives of game developers and publishers, and viewpoints of gamers. The gamevironments Research Days 2026 offers a unique opportunity to engage in a critical exchange about practical methods and theoretical approaches for studying video games, gaming, and culture. It will provide a collaborative learning environment for scholars and allow graduate students, PhD students, and other early-stage researchers to discuss their work and receive feedback from renowned international scholars in the field.
This year’s theme is “Beyond Play.” Digital games aren't just entertainment — they shape and are shaped by the world around them. They influence how new technologies spread, how cultures evolve, and how people communicate, learn, and interact. At the same time, broader social and technological changes transform how games are made, played, and talked about. So, the question is what does gaming actually do to society, and what does society do to gaming? We invite students and researchers from any discipline to submit work exploring topics such as:
- How gaming drives the adoption of new technologies
- How gaming cultures spill over into everyday, non-gaming life
- Gaming's role in representation, inclusion, and shifting social norms
- Gaming in education, religion, politics, and public debate
- Spaces around games — streaming, social video networks, journalism, gamification, and serious games
- Communities within and surrounding games
- Player practices such as modding, co-creation, and informal learning
- Gaming across platforms: transmedia franchises and storytelling
- Shifts in the gaming industry and their broader societal implications
- How communicative AI transforms the role and practices of games, gaming, players and developers
- Figurative, ethnographical and situational analysis of gaming
Send a brief CV and a 500-word abstract on the theme that you’d like to present to this year’s co-organizers Karsten D. Wolf, Christian Schwarzenegger and Kerstin Radde-Antweiler (games2@uni-bremen.de). Participants will be chosen based on their abstracts. The selected participants will be requested to submit a detailed project description (approximately 2000 words), which will be presented and discussed during the workshop. Invited scholars and selected peers will provide feedback and comments on the participants' projects.
Experts
Owen Gottlieb, Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences
Gregory Grieve, University of North Carolina Greensboro
Lissa Holloway-Attaway, University of Skövde
Kerstin Radde-Antweiler, University of Bremen
Martin Roth, Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto
Christian Schwarzenegger, University of Bremen
Piotr Siuda, Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz
Patryk Wasiak, Polish Academy of Science in Warsaw
Karsten Wolf, University of Bremen
The best papers get the opportunity to get published as reports in the international peer-reviewed journal gamevironments. Further information will be provided at the workshop. The gamevironments Research Days 2026 will be held online. There is no attendance fee!
Timeline
August 15 Deadline for applications (CV and 500-word abstract)
September 1 Decision of abstract acceptance
September 30 Registration for the workshop
October 15 Submission of full papers (approx. 2000 words)
November 5-6 Gamevironments Research Days 2026
Previous Research Days
Prior to 2025, the Gamevironments Research Day was the IASGAR Research Day.
3rd IASGAR Research Day (University of Bremen, Germany), 28 September 2024
2nd IASGAR Research Day (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA), 27 July 2023
1st IASGAR Research Day (University of Bremen, Germany), 8 July 2022
Proceedings
Since 2024, selected presenters from each research day are asked to write a report on their work and submit it to the journal for publication in a forthcoming regular issue.
"Fear the Old Blood." Bloodborne, Christian Concepts of Communion, and Theological Reflection
Blessed Are The Geek. Christian Gaming Content Creators and Digital Discipleship
Sophia Rosenberg
Fanatical Alien Monsters. Halo and Religion in Fan-Forum Discourse
Emma Milerud Sundström
