What We Talk About When We Talk About Agency: A Systematic Review of Agency in Video Games

Agency, which refers to the capacity for players to make meaningful choices and perceive their consequences, is a critical element in game studies. Despite its importance, there is a lack of consensus regarding its definition and measurement within the field. We conducted a systematic review of 79 peer-reviewed full-text articles from SCOPUS that examine agency in video games. The results reveal substantial diversity in how agency is defined across gaming contexts, which constrains research consistency and cumulative knowledge building. In addition, although questionnaires are widely used, few validated scales have been developed specifically for video games, limiting comparability across studies. Finally, existing research tends to prioritise agency expressed through in game structures such as interaction and narrative, rather than agency as a subjective experience of players. This review contributes to clarifying the concept of agency and its measurement, and supports a broader focus on player-centred outcomes to enable a more balanced understanding of agency in video games.