Alt-right Shadows over Gaming and Masculinities: A Systematic Narrative Review

During the last decade, events such as GamerGate and debates around gender inequality in video games have highlighted affinities between alt-right discourses and some sectors of the gaming community. This article contributes to the literature with a systematic narrative review of alt-right and gaming culture, focusing on masculinities and their discourses in the video game industry. We conducted bibliographic searches in Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar using terms in English and Spanish, such as “video games”, “alt-right”, and “masculinities”. We conducted two screening rounds by applying PRIMA and using Rayyan software, reducing the initial sample (n = 274) to 33 articles and book chapters. The review highlights the importance of linking Game Studies with the issues of masculinities and the alt-right. We advocate for a comprehensive model integrating Game Studies with the analysis of extremist forces, emphasizing the interconnectedness of various issues such as video games as political objects, historical and cultural media formation, and geek masculinity. Key recommendations include establishing a common framework, enhancing scholar-industry collaboration, and promoting solution-oriented research to address the influence of the alt-right in gaming communities.