Internal Fact Sheet

Shifting Society with Greek Games 

In the wake of a changing society, the new publishing company Greek Games has a mission to shift the paradigm with their debut title Peloponnesian Pacifist by using professional research and informal evidence.  

Organized by Organizations 

As part of Greek Games’ initiative, there are three professional organizations they will consult and utilize to accomplish their ambitious goals:  

• The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), an organization that assigns ratings to videogames to publicly define their societal implications, will guide the company to following proper protocols for ensuring that their game will reach as many potential players as possible. 

• The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the trade association and voice of the video game industry, of which the largest publishers are members (Santucci, n.d.), will be a crucial ally of Greek Games. The support of the ESA and its members will help the Peloponnesian Pacifist be respected by gamers worldwide. 

• The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the United States’ medical research agency, which has studied the potential harms and benefits of video games (National Institutes of Health, 2019), will help the company ensure that its games, advertisements, and other content will be as mentally beneficial to its customers. The multitude of studies done by the NIH is at their disposal.  

During the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic, the NIH stressed the “importance of social videogaming for connection with others” (Ballard & Spencer, 2022).  

As it is already shown in studies that videogames can have large-scale societal impacts (Markey et al., 2020), NIH’s statement is integral to one of the company’s goals, which is to assist with the societal impacts of COVID-19.  

Professional Publishers 

Certain social institutions have had strong influences on the industry, studying social impacts of videogames, namely periodicals and journals. These are valuable to understand the potential effects Greek Games may bring with their game, as well as the culture surrounding videogames: 

• Game Studies, a scholarly, “cross-disciplinary peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the study of the cultural genre of games” (NordMedia Network, 2023), will provide Greek Games with professional insight to how games and gaming culture play into society. The company can use this insight to understand how their game may perform professionally. 

• Game Informer, an informal magazine operated by GameStop that has strongly contributed to preserving the in-person community of videogame interaction since 1991 (Miller, 2025). Greek Games will use this magazine as both a window into the current landscape of videogames, as well as one of their many foundations for publicity. 

• Games and Culture, another scholarly journal that promotes innovative, theoretical, and empirical research about culture within games (Games and Culture, n.d.), will provide the company with more direct, applicable research with how to make Peloponnesian Pacifist influence society in the most effective, yet positive way. 

Game Informer notably gives Greek Games a strong fanbase to aid in their rise of notability. The magazine is well-respected by loyal readers, which is evidenced by the uniting tribute the community presented when Game Informer was temporarily shut down in 2024 (Alexander, 2024). 

Game Studies and Games and Culture, conversely, are influential in the research side of social perception. Both journals have published a plethora of outstanding arguments in support of videogames being an influential concept in modern society.  

Their focuses include the socio-cultural, political, and economic aspects of game culture based on cultural studies, race/gender studies, media studies, and communication studies. Greek Games will use this empirical data to attract a wide variety of backgrounds and values to the Peloponnesian Pacifist. 

Informal Influences 

In addition to the professional research and organizational support, many online forums and discussion boards will provide a direct insight into how Greek Games’ can tackle ambitious world issues with Peloponnesian Pacifist: 

• Reddit; potentially the largest social forum platform on the internet. The individual forums, or subreddits, feature every possible community moldable by society. These subreddits have highlighted socialization issues ever since COVID-19, which is a problem the company has a vision to absolve. 

• NeoGAF, a videogame-focused news and forum community that contains everything from tutorials to social applications of videogames (Donaldson, 2013). Despite certain scandals, archived posts and discussions can serve as evidence for problems such as social prejudice against videogames. 

• GameFAQs, a 30-year-old forum that invites players to socialize and ask questions regarding any facet of videogame culture (Allen, 2023). With decades of conversations between videogame consumers, Greek Games will have more evidence than needed to prove that gamers are not always aggressive or lazy members of society.  

While these forums and discussion communities serve as a digital “coffee shop” for gamers, research outright proves that communication between online players, whether in-game messages or unaffiliated forums, are beneficial to social health (Fishman, 2023), and necessary for teens’ socialization (Kowert & Oldmeadow, 2015). 

The company will use this data to further combat prejudice against teenage gamers. 

Conventions and Conferences 

There are even many organized conferences, conventions, and meetings that have been influential on the social impacts of videogames. The decisions and discoveries made by these gatherings can serve as evidence towards gaming culture and lead to huge impacts on the culture moving forward. 

• E3, an annual videogame convention that was held during the summer in LA and operated from 1995 to 2019, was the most influential and renowned convention in the video game industry. While defunct, 30 years of conventions, as well as its closure due to COVID-19, is important evidence that Greek Games can use towards their game. 

• World Health Assembly (WHA), The World Health Organization (WHO)’s conference held every May in Switzerland, where discussions of the societal impacts of COVID-19 have been present recently. While not videogame-related, their meetings have offered crucial insight into the socialization issues erupting from the pandemic. 

• Interactive Innovation Conference (iicon), the ESA’s upcoming event, planned to be held April 27–30, 2026 in Las Vegas, claiming to bring about a revolution of technological innovation, impacting many industries, including videogames. Greek Games will take advantage of this conference to promote technological innovation. 

E3 was the center of in-person interaction within the industry, being held every summer, even generating up to $83 million for the city of Los Angeles in its final year, before being disbanded after the social impacts of COVID-19 (Hollister, 2023). 

While iicon will not be held for another year, there has been a lot of support from the corporations that have been long-standing members of the ESA.  

CEOs and spokespersons for companies such as Xbox have stressed that the focus on videogames will be the focus of technological innovation. “Video games push the boundaries of technology and creativity, extending far beyond entertainment,” said Laurent Detoc, Chief Direct-to-Player Officer, Ubisoft (Kody, 2025). 

This evidence ultimately supports topics regarding social impacts of COVID-19 and the motivation behind technological innovation, both of which are concepts Greek Games is looking to solve through support and advocation backed with research. 

Can a Game Fix the World? 

With an abundance of supportive research from professional, government, community, and informal sources, it is implacable that videogames are an influential medium. Greek Games’ vision is a world where the following problems no longer effect modern society. 

• The Social Impacts of COVID-19; specifically, how teens have suffered socially from the isolation caused by the 2019 pandemic (Hosseinzadeh et al., 2022), and that trends of mental health issues are persisting from a persistent lack of socialization. 

• The Prejudice of Entertainment Media, the present issue where many consumers of entertainment media, not just that of videogames, are prejudiced against in a multitude of ways (Carey, 2017). Specifically, Greek Games wants society to accept interactive media just as it has with movies and books. 

• Incentive for Technological Innovation, where innovation comes only from monetary profit. The solution is that entertainment may be a middleman for an incentive besides money, i.e., “The Future of Gaming Is the Future of Tech” (Bubenzer-Paim, 2025).  

The company will build their game with a heavy focus on inter-player communication. In-game discussion boards and user-friendly menus to interact with others will exist to better connect gamers with each other.  

By designing and marketing a casual videogame, barely mentioning the word ‘game’, Greek Games will introduce a new generation of gamers, broadening the field in society. This will lead to a drastic shift in public perception of those that spend their time on interactive media, which includes videogames, social media, online programs/software, and even digital art and news. 

Videogames such as Peloponnesian Pacifist can invite innovators and investors to consider long-term benefits with ambitious technological feats.  

Videogames have shifted society before, reshaping the social acceptance of education, economy, technological shifts, and virtual globalization (Star, 2024). Peloponnesian Pacifist will be the next step in those changes by setting itself apart from the norm. 

Presenting: Peloponnesian Pacifist 

Greek Games’ debut title Peloponnesian Pacifist will be presented with change in mind. While implementing research and support from traditional videogame data, this game will be different by introducing features that will help its success in fulfilling the publisher’s vision: 

• A Large-Scale Communication Platform, allowing players to participate in direct messaging, discussion posts, and much more without even leaving the game. While not multiplayer, this sense of community will be impactful in the social lives of the players 

• An Intriguing, Yet Familiar Setting, since the game will take place in c. 400 B.C. Ancient Greece, a location with a history that is frequently studied throughout school. This will serve as a casual introduction to the videogame landscape, preserving a sense of availability to all demographics. 

• An Expansive, Open-World Run on Browser, which will invite a technological challenge for the industry while ensuring that a casual, user-friendly vibe of Peloponnesian Pacifist will invite new gamers to enjoy the entertainment and convince society to destigmatize that form of media. 

While Peloponnesian Pacifist is the poster child of Greek Games’ message, there is so much more they will do to share their vision and values.  

By participating in conferences such as iconn, spreading technological innovation and establishing a presence in magazines such as GameInformer, or holding its own convention dedicated to the restoration of a connected community from the days of E3, Greek Games will change the world, one community, one game, one pixel at a time.

References 

Alexander, C. (2024, August 6). The video game industry pays tribute to Game Informer. Digital Trends. https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/game-informer-and-its-lasting-impact-on-the-games-industry/

Allen, J. (2023, October 19). What Happened to GameFAQs? They Lost Their Lead Moderator. Distractify. https://www.distractify.com/p/what-happened-to-gamefaqs

Ballard, M. E., & Spencer, M. T. (2022). Importance of Social Videogaming for Connection with Others During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Games and Culture, 18(2), 155541202210909. https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120221090982

Bubenzer-Paim, A. (2025, January 24). Why The Future Of Gaming Is The Future Of Tech. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbestechcouncil/2025/01/24/why-the-future-of-gaming-is-the-future-of-tech/

Carey, L. (2017). The Predictors and Consequences of Prejudice in Online Video Games https://utoronto.scholaris.ca/server/api/core/bitstreams/9490bdfd-6d4d-42db-9754-d71d0daf1bb2/content

Donaldson, A. (2013, May 15). The story of NeoGAF part one: humble beginnings. VG247. https://www.vg247.com/the-story-of-neogaf-part-one-humble-beginnings

Fishman, A. (2023). Video Games Are Social Spaces: How Video Games Help People Connect | ResponseCenter. JCFS.org; JCFS Chicago. https://www.jcfs.org/response/blog/video-games-are-social-spaces-how-video-games-help-people-connect

Games and Culture. (n.d.). SAGE Journals. https://journals.sagepub.com/home/gac

Hollister, S. (2023, June 23). E3 is dead — how big was it, anyhow? The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/23/22568841/e3-los-angeles-attendees-hotel-nights-economic-impact

Hosseinzadeh, P., Zareipour, M., Baljani, E., & Moradali, M. R. (2022). Social Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic. A Systematic Review. Investigación Y Educación En Enfermería, 40(1). http://www.scielo.org.co/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S0120-53072022000100010&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=es\

Kody. (2025, February 6). Entertainment Software Association Unveils iicon, Game-Changing Thought Leader Summit to Harness the Power of Interactive Entertainment and Shape the Future of Business and Culture. The ESA. https://www.theesa.com/entertainment

Kowert, R., & Oldmeadow, J. A. (2015). Playing for social comfort: Online video game play as a social accommodator for the insecurely attached. Computers in Human Behavior, 53, 556 https://www.academia.edu/20709165/Playing_for_social_comfort

Markey, P., Ferguson, C., & Hopkins, L. (2020). Video Game Play Myths and Benefits. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1304728.pdf

Miller, M. (2025). Game Informer Is Back. Game Informer. https://gameinformer.com/letter-from-the-editor/2025/03/25/game-informer-is-back

National Institutes of Health. (2019). About NIH. National Institutes of Health (NIH). https://www.nih.gov/about-nih

NordMedia Network. (2023, April 11). Game Studies - NordMedia Network. https://nordmedianetwork.org/resources/journals/game-studies/

Santucci, S. (n.d.). Entertainment Software Association | About The ESA. Entertainment Software Association. https://www.theesa.com/about-esa/

Star, Ruby (2024, December 28) How Video Games Have Changed The World https://worldwidedigest.com/how-video-games-have-changed-the-world/