This student-friendly book provides an accessible overview of the primary debates about the effects of video games. It expands on the original The Video Game Debate to address the new technologies that have emerged within the field of game studies over the last few years.

Rachel Kowert is the Research Director of Take This, a nonprofit organization that provides mental health information and resources to gaming communities and the gaming industry. She has been studying games and gamers for more than 10 years, with a specific focus on the social impact of digital game play. She has published numerous research articles and books on the topic, including A Parent's Guide to Video Games (2016), which won an INDIES award in science. For more information on Rachel and her research, please visit rkowert.com.

Thorsten Quandt is Professor of Online Communication at the University of Münster and a distinguished scientist with extensive experience in digital games research, both nationally and internationally. He is the founding chair of the ECREA section on Digital Games Research, and the co-editor of essential books in game studies, including Multiplayer (2013), The Video Game Debate (2016), and New Perspectives on the Social Aspects of Digital Gaming (2017).

1. Revisiting old debates 2. A brief overview of loot boxes in video gaming 3. Serious games: Play for change 4. Digital divides and structural inequalities: Exploring the technomasculine culture of gaming 5. Twitch and participatory cultures 6. Esports 7. Therapeutic use of video games 8. Extended Reality Therapy: The use of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality in mental health treatment 9. Mobile gaming 10. Concluding comments