About the Journal

Game Nexus is an international, interdisciplinary, and peer-reviewed open access scholarly journal dedicated to advancing research, theory, and critical discourse in the rapidly evolving field of game studies. As digital games increasingly shape contemporary culture, society, education, economy, and technology, Game Nexus provides a rigorous academic platform for researchers, practitioners, designers, and scholars to share innovative insights and empirical findings.

Published quarterly, the journal welcomes high-quality submissions that explore games as complex cultural artifacts, interactive systems, and creative media. We support a broad spectrum of approaches—ranging from theoretical to empirical, quantitative to qualitative, and conceptual to design-based research. The journal aims to foster interdisciplinary dialogue among fields including, but not limited to, computer science, psychology, media studies, digital humanities, sociology, art and design, artificial intelligence, human–computer interaction (HCI), cultural studies, communication studies, and educational technology.

Game Nexus is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity, transparency, and editorial excellence. All submitted manuscripts undergo a double-blind, anonymous, and independent peer-review process involving two or three expert reviewers. We actively encourage global scholarly participation and strive to promote equitable access to knowledge by upholding an inclusive and ethical publishing environment. The journal is designed to serve as a nexus—bringing together diverse perspectives to enrich the academic conversation about games and interactive media across research communities worldwide.

Aims and Scopes

Game Nexus seeks to expand the intellectual foundations of game studies and interactive media while supporting innovative, impactful research. The journal’s main aims include:

  • Advancing interdisciplinary scholarship that examines digital games as technological systems, cultural forms, artistic expressions, and socio-psychological phenomena.

  • Connecting diverse scientific and academic communities, enabling cross-disciplinary analysis between computer science, social sciences, humanities, design, cognitive sciences, and emerging technologies.

  • Encouraging critical and reflective inquiry into the roles games play in contemporary society, including their ethical, cultural, political, and economic impacts.

  • Supporting the documentation and analysis of game design processes, user experiences, and interactive systems, offering insights that inform both academic theory and industry practice.

  • Promoting methodological diversity, including experimental studies, ethnography, computational modeling, content analysis, qualitative interviews, user studies, mixed-methods research, and critical theory.

The journal's scope includes, but is not limited to:

  • Game design, development, and production

  • Game engines, graphics, animation, and procedural generation

  • Artificial intelligence in games

  • Player behavior, cognition, motivation, and psychology

  • Narrative design, storytelling, and ludology

  • Esports, competitive gaming, and online communities

  • Gamification and game-based learning

  • Virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), XR, and immersive environments

  • Serious games, health games, and simulation-based training

  • Cultural, historical, and sociological perspectives on games

  • Ethical and philosophical dimensions of gaming

  • Gender, identity, and representation in games

  • Economy, monetization models, and game markets

  • Accessibility in games and inclusive design

  • Games preservation, archiving, and digital heritage

  • Media studies, fandom, and participatory cultures

Game Nexus welcomes original research articles, reviews, case studies, conceptual papers, design reports, technical notes, and critical analyses.

Open Access Statement

Game Nexus is an open access journal, meaning all published articles are freely available online immediately upon publication. Readers anywhere in the world can access, read, download, distribute, and use the journal’s content without financial, legal, or technical barriers.

The journal believes that open access accelerates scientific discovery, enhances global visibility for authors, promotes equitable knowledge sharing, and benefits scholars, educators, practitioners, and the broader public. Open access ensures that research in the field of digital games and interactive media reaches wider audiences, including those in low-resource environments, independent researchers, and industry professionals who may lack institutional access.

No subscription or access fees apply. All accepted articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0), which allows users to share, adapt, and build upon the work for non-commercial purposes, with proper attribution to the original authors.

Copyright and License

Authors publishing in Game Nexus retain full copyright of their work. Upon acceptance, authors grant the journal the right to publish the article under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0) license.

Under this license:

  • Anyone may read, download, copy, distribute, print, and share the article for non-commercial purposes.

  • Users may adapt, remix, transform, and build upon the material, provided that proper credit is given, a link to the license is provided, and any changes are indicated.

  • Commercial use of the material is not permitted without explicit permission from the authors.

This licensing framework ensures that authors maintain control over their intellectual property while enabling broad dissemination and scholarly impact.

Plagiarism Policy

Game Nexus upholds strict standards of academic honesty and originality. All submissions are screened using iThenticate, a leading plagiarism detection platform, to identify any overlap with previously published works.

The journal defines plagiarism as:

  • Copying text, ideas, or data from any source without proper citation

  • Self-plagiarism, including reusing substantial parts of one’s own prior work without acknowledgment

  • Manipulation of text or paraphrasing that retains the original meaning without attribution

  • Submitting previously published or simultaneously submitted manuscripts

Manuscripts with unacceptable levels of similarity or evidence of unethical practices will be rejected immediately. In severe cases, the journal may notify the author’s institution or apply publication bans.

Authors are responsible for ensuring the originality of their submission. Citations, quotations, and reused material must be properly referenced according to journal guidelines.

Article Processing Charges (APCs)

To support open access publishing and cover editorial, technical, and operational costs, Game Nexus applies an Article Processing Charge (APC) of 3,000,000 Tomans for accepted manuscripts.

APCs help fund:

  • Editorial management and production

  • Peer-review administration

  • Typesetting, formatting, and layout

  • Digital preservation and online hosting

  • DOI assignment and metadata indexing

  • Editorial software and technological infrastructure

No submission fee is required, and payment is only requested after the manuscript has been accepted following peer review.

Financial assistance or waivers may be considered in special cases at the discretion of the editorial office, particularly for authors facing financial hardship.

Peer-Review Process

Game Nexus employs a rigorous double-blind anonymous peer-review process to ensure high academic standards, impartiality, and scholarly excellence.

Key features of the review process include:

  1. Initial Screening
    Submitted manuscripts undergo evaluation by the editorial office for scope, quality, structure, and adherence to journal guidelines.

  2. Assignment to Reviewers
    Each manuscript is sent to two or three expert reviewers, matched based on specialization and methodological expertise.

  3. Double-Blind Review
    both reviewers and authors remain anonymous throughout the entire process to promote fairness and prevent bias.

  4. Evaluation Criteria
    Reviewers assess originality, methodological rigor, theoretical contribution, clarity of presentation, ethical compliance, and relevance.

  5. Decision Process
    Based on reviewers’ reports, the editor may issue a decision of:

    • Accept

    • Minor revision

    • Major revision

    • Reject

  6. Revision and Final Assessment
    Updated manuscripts undergo further evaluation until the editor is satisfied with the scientific quality and integrity of the submission.

The typical review timeline ranges from four to eight weeks, depending on reviewer availability and complexity of the manuscript.

Archiving and Repository Policies

Game Nexus is committed to ensuring long-term preservation, accessibility, and discoverability of its published research.

1. Self-Archiving Policy (Green Open Access)

Authors are permitted to deposit:

  • The submitted version,

  • The accepted version, and

  • The published version (Version of Record)

in institutional repositories, personal websites, academic social networks (such as ResearchGate or Academia.edu), or national archives—with no embargo period.

All archived versions must include:

  • Full citation to the published article

  • DOI link

  • Licensing information (CC BY-NC 4.0)

2. Journal Website Archiving

All published articles are permanently preserved on the journal’s official website. The journal ensures:

  • Secure hosting

  • Regular backups

  • Long-term digital preservation

  • Availability even if the journal ceases publication in the future