Thematic and Bibliometric Analysis of Game-Based Learning in Project Management Higher Education

Game-Based Learning (GBL) is a well-recognized experiential learning practice for Project Management (PM) training. However, GBL suffers from a stagnant adoption rate in higher education despite its positive reputation in research. Hence, this systematic review presents key findings, trends and gaps in Project Management–Game-Based Learning (PM–GBL) research to facilitate and encourage widespread adoption. Using the PRISMA framework, 50 GBL case studies on Project Management Serious Games (PM-SGs) were selected. This review also presents a timeline of serious games in construction management, software project management, and business project management across undergraduate and graduate engineering courses. Then, the content analysis identified five key themes—pilot studies, case studies, comparative studies, student-made games, and game design trends. In this section, a synthesis of key takeaways is presented regarding knowledge gain, game feedback, and learning behavior. In addition, guidelines for GBL developers and adopters are discussed. Next, the bibliometric analysis sheds light on the chronological and geographical distribution of the selected literature. Lastly, this paper suggests pivotal directions for future research in serious game design, development, implementation, and evaluation.