A systematic review and meta-analysis of educational games for the intervention of school bullying

Bullying harms learning and wellbeing, and schools increasingly use digital games as part of their response. This PRISMA-guided systematic review and meta-analysis synthesized 34 studies on educational games for school bullying and cyberbullying intervention. Ten randomized trials passed risk-of-bias screening; nine contributed continuous outcomes to the primary meta-analysis. The pooled effect was small and statistically significant (Hedges' g = 0.14, 95% CI [0.02, 0.26]) and remained stable across sensitivity analyses. Effects were observed at immediate post-intervention assessment and tended to diminish by three to six months without booster components. Among outcome domains, emotional outcomes showed the largest pooled gains, while cognitive and behavioural effects were smaller and did not reach statistical significance. Educational games outperformed usual-care conditions, were comparable to other active programs, and showed higher completion rates than no-intervention controls. Implementation was predominantly classroom-based on PC/web platforms and targeted whole student cohorts rather than role- or risk-defined groups. Common design features included role-based scenarios, branching decisions, immediate feedback, and structured reflection. No tested moderator reached statistical significance. Future trials should pre-specify maintenance strategies, adopt role-sensitive recruitment, use well-matched active comparators, and report design and implementation features with greater precision.