Can Commercial Video Games Like Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile Enhance Vocabulary Acquisition?

This study investigates learning incidental vocabulary with two well-known mobile games: the action-packed RPG Genshin Impact and the FPS-based first-person shooter Call of Duty: Mobile (CODM). A mixed-methods experiment spanning six weeks with forty intermediate-level English language learner (ELL) university students tested experimental groups (GG, CG) utilizing one of the games as a comparison with a control group (ConG). Data were gathered from Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) tests, focus group interviews, stimulated recall interviews, and gameplay records. Results showed that both experimental groups demonstrated significant vocabulary gains as opposed to the control group. Importantly, the results demonstrated that the Genshin Impact group (GG) demonstrated considerably higher vocabulary gains compared with the CODM group (CG). Qualitative results demonstrated that the narrative depth, contextual depth, and requirement of comprehension of Genshin Impact created deeper cognitive processing and strategic learning of vocabulary, and consequently improved transferable learning of academic vocabulary. Results suggest that while commercialized mobile games can aid learning incidental vocabulary, narrative-driven RPGs like Genshin Impact present an optimum learning environment supporting extensive and transferable incidental learning as opposed to action-based FPS games like CODM.