A fragmented ecosystem: ephemerality and standardization gaps in digital serious games designed to counter misinformation

Introduction The proliferation of online misinformation has prompted the development of a growing number of digital serious games designed to strengthen users' competencies in identifying and resisting false or misleading content. However, comparing their design, theoretical foundations, and evaluation evidence requires attention to how interventions are described and documented. Methods This study combines a scoping review with a framework-based qualitative comparative analysis of six digital serious games represented in seven eligible peer-reviewed publications. The framework examined core design features, pedagogical and theoretical foundations, communicative mechanisms, and motivational design using the eight Core Drives of Octalysis. Results Within this corpus, the analysis identified variation in interaction mechanics, player roles, instructional strategies, motivational features, and evaluation approaches. Variation was not treated as fragmentation in itself; fragmentation concerned barriers to comparison, reproduction, and cumulative development. Four interconnected dimensions were identified: design fragmentation, theoretical fragmentation, evaluation fragmentation, and technological ephemerality. Differences in outcome measures and documentation complicated comparison, while restricted access to some interventions required documentary or archival reconstruction. Discussion These findings provide an exploratory account of the included games and do not establish the prevalence of fragmentation across the wider field. We identify four priority directions for future research: standardized game design taxonomies, longitudinal evaluation protocols, evaluation methods that distinguish discrimination from response bias, and collaborative co-design frameworks.