Researchers at Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, are collaborating with game developer FuturLab, makers of the game PowerWash Simulator, to study the effects of playing video games on the mental health of players.
PowerWash Simulator allows players to clean a multitude of areas, objects and vehicles in the fictional town of Muckingham, unlocking upgrades that help to clean more efficiently and building up their power washing business as they go. Originally built as an improvised self-care tool, the simple gameplay focuses on relaxation and satisfaction. The game officially released on July 14th 2022.
Players are invited to sign up for a research edition of the game, where they report their well-being to the researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute. FuturLab then shares play data (e.g., when a player cleaned an object) with the researchers. This combination of subjective reports and objective play data allows the researchers to test important research questions about the effects of video game play.
The project is a one-of-a-kind collaboration between independent researchers and partners from the games sector. The researchers from the Oxford Internet Institute work closely together with dedicated personnel at FuturLab, whilst maintaining financial and organizational independence. The researchers have experience with such collaboration, having worked with other publishers in the past. The guiding principle for these collaborations, including the current one, is absolute independence; the results will not be influenced by the game sector. This level of independence is necessary as the project aims to deliver insights into the larger discourse of gaming and mental health.
This project is currently underway and the Oxford Internet Institute is not taking press inquiries until the results are released. Researchers anticipate releasing the full results early 2024. Limited project updates will be posted here during the research phase.
For more information and instructions on how to participate, please visit the FuturLab website.
Former Research Associate
Niklas Johannes is a behavioural scientist. He worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Adolescent Well-Being in the Digital Age programme, where he studied effects of technology on well-being and performance.
Research Associate
Matti Vuorre is an experimental psychologist. He applies his expertise in cognitive psychology and Bayesian modelling as a postdoctoral researcher in the Programme on Adolescent Well-Being in the Digital Age.
Research Associate
Kristoffer is a clinical psychologist at the Stockholm Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. His work is mainly concerned with studying various aspects of gaming and gambling disorder, in collaboration with Andrew Przybylski.
Professor of Human Behaviour and Technology
Professor Przybylski is a psychologist who studies how online social media and video games platforms influence users’ mental health. His research focuses on how data from these platforms can inform regulation, policymaking, and expert advice.
This programme addresses the assumptions that the overall mental well-being of young people is undergoing a pronounced period of decline and that digital technologies might be driving this trend.