Twenty-Five Years of Digital Games Research in Poland

This paper traces the history and present state of Polish video game research over roughly twenty-five years, beginning from what the authors identify as the first known peer-reviewed Polish paper on video games, published in 1991. Its aim is to examine all Polish research into video games rather than only work that identifies with game studies as a delineated field, combining a sociohistorical account with an analysis of publications. The authors position the study as a contribution to broader international debates about the development of game studies, noting that the history of Polish game research has previously received little attention in English.

The proposed analysis covers several strands: a chronological timeline of conferences, organizations, periodicals, and educational programs; counts of original and translated publications by period; a content analysis of titles, keywords, and abstracts of located journal articles; and a thematic overview of books, chapters, and unpublished dissertations. Key developments identified include early interest among media scholars in the 1990s, a hiatus in international contacts during the 2000s, institutionalization through the Games Research Association of Poland, and recent growth in research activity. The data draw on the authors' insider knowledge, library catalogs, conference programs, university websites, academic periodical contents, and interviews with pioneering researchers and their institutional mentors.

The authors also present context on the Polish market and scene: Poland has a substantial video game industry with several internationally recognized titles, and its game studies community is significant within the emerging Central and Eastern European research network. In 2015 alone, eight game studies conferences were held in Poland. The study adopts a methodological stance that considers diverse institutional actors, including game design centers and IT research centers, alongside universities, to avoid oversimplifying the field's development.