Game-Based Learning: A Scoping Review of Research in Higher Education

This scoping review maps the research landscape of game-based learning (GBL) and learner motivation in higher education, drawing on 166 peer-reviewed articles published between 2020 and 2025. Motivated by the absence of a systematic overview of this intersection, the review charts how the field has developed across journals, settings, and game formats. Publication output peaked in 2021 with 43 articles and declined to 29 by 2024, and the literature is widely dispersed, spanning 99 journals with Education Sciences contributing the largest share at 19 articles.

The field's emphasis is clear. Curricular settings account for 66.3 percent of studies, and undergraduate programs are the most common focus, appearing in 115 articles. Digital games dominate at 72.3 percent, while analog games represent 11.4 percent and hybrid formats appear in only seven studies. In terms of motivation, the most frequently examined categories were "Application" (63 studies) and "Thinking" (54 studies), whereas "Communication" was the least represented at 14. Together these patterns point to a research agenda concentrated on cognitive outcomes and digital delivery.

The review's findings suggest meaningful gaps that future work could address. The limited attention to analog and hybrid games, along with the uneven coverage of motivational dimensions such as communication, indicates areas where the evidence base remains thin. The variety of conceptualizations of motivation across studies also complicates cross-study comparison. Taken together, the review establishes a baseline for understanding where GBL research in higher education is concentrated and where it remains underdeveloped.