Serious Games: the market, the directory and the examples that still work

Serious games are built for training, education and health. Each entry here carries a status and the month it was last checked, so a serious games list stays usable after its links have aged.

Serious games directory: find a game by profession or topic

15 checked games, 2 own games in an early versionEvery address was opened in November 2026.

Open the full directory

2Status

Status tracker: what changed

A game that taught well a few years ago can be gone today: the studio closes, the plug-in dies, the license moves. The tracker records each change with its date.

  • 2024EndeavorRxIts maker Akili agreed to merge with Virtual Therapeutics.Merger
  • 2023–24Serious Games M.S.The University of California, Santa Cruz discontinued the degree.Discontinued
  • Autumn 2026Serious Games master'sThe University of Skövde replaced its one-year program with a new master's program.Replaced

How a status is checked

Each listed address is opened once a month; in November 2026 that was 266 addresses. A game counts as playable only when its maker's page offers it, and every entry shows the month of its check. An address on its own has three states: it loads, it has moved to another website, or it is gone. A page that loads does not prove the game runs.

  1. Open the address
  2. Read the maker's page
  3. Stamp the month

3Play

Serious games examples built here: two early versions to play

Two serious games examples are built for this site. Each teaches one thing, and an early version of each can be played on its own page.

Illustration: a paper model room in which a kneeling figure presses both hands on the chest of a training manikin lying on a mat
  • Chest compressions
  • Steady rhythm
  • Playable

CPR Trainer

A steady pace is hard to learn from a page. The trainer sets a rhythm and shows, beat by beat, whether the player holds it.

Play CPR Trainer
Illustration: a paper model clinic with a waiting room of three chairs, a figure at the door and a second figure beside an exam table
  1. Front desk
  2. Exam room
  3. Vitals
  4. Tray
  5. Handover

Medical Assisting Shift

One clinic shift as a time-management game: patients arrive, vitals are due, rooms need turning over, and the clock keeps running.

Play Medical Assisting Shift

4Awards

Awards: the latest winners

Four award programs show what the field counts as good work. The database holds 808 award rows; the table shows a selection.

Illustration: a paper model award stage with a trophy on an orange plinth, two figures beside it and rows of figures in the audience

Winners by year

Rows on record: Showcase & Challenge 462, Serious Play 178, Games for Change 114, BAFTA 54. BAFTA rows are listed by ceremony number. For 2026 only the Showcase & Challenge and BAFTA have rows on record.
2026
Serious Games Showcase & ChallengeSGS&C Europe WinnerBattleBottle: Drone CommanderBattleBottle
BAFTA Game Beyond Entertainment22nd British Academy Games AwardsDespeloteJulián Cordero, Sebastián Valbuena
2025
Serious Games Showcase & ChallengeBest General Audience GameVenture Valley Business TycoonSingleton Foundation
International Serious Play AwardsGold, healthcareLaptitude: The Curious CasesNot named in the source
Games for Change AwardsGame of the YearIndikaOdd Meter
Games for Change AwardsBest in LearningTablecraftNot Suspicious
BAFTA Game Beyond Entertainment21st British Academy Games AwardsTales of Kenzera: ZauSurgent Studios
2024
Serious Games Showcase & ChallengeBest General Audience GameDeepfake ElicitationBridgeFour
International Serious Play AwardsGold, corporate and vocational skillsHouse Flipper 2Not named in the source
Games for Change AwardsGame of the YearStay Alive, My Son Chapter 1 & 2UME Studios
Games for Change AwardsBest in LearningHeadlines and High WaterField Day Lab
BAFTA Game Beyond Entertainment20th British Academy Games AwardsTchiaAwaceb

Search all 808 award rows

5Cost

What a commissioned serious game costs on the market

A custom game has no list price, but 65 price points are public. Studio quotes in US dollars start at $3,000 and pass $1,000,000. Research grants run on their own track, because a grant is not a commission price.

US dollars, logarithmic scale

Commission price: studio and agency quotes$3,000 to over $1,000,000

Commission price: public contracts$4,495 to $32.75 million

Separate track: research and development grants$100,000 to $1.05 million

Typical project range stated by Filament Games in 2021: $250,000 to $400,000.

Figures as each source states them, in its own currency; nothing is converted or added up across currencies. A $14 million budget cited second-hand for a 2007 medical game counts as a price point and is kept off the range.
Lowest Highest
Studio and agency quotesCommission priceUS dollar13$3,000Over $1,000,000
Studio benchmarks, FranceCommission priceEuro7€5,000Over €80,000
Studio estimate, United KingdomCommission pricePound sterling1£35,000£71,000
Public contracts, United StatesCommission priceUS dollar22$4,495$32.75 million
Public contracts, United KingdomCommission pricePound sterling2£71,000£150,000
Research and development grantsGrant, not a priceUS dollar20$100,000$1.05 million

See all 65 price points

6Programs

Degree programs: who still teaches this

Sixteen degree and certificate programs in serious game design are tracked. Ten are running, two are discontinued, two have been replaced and the status of two is unclear.

  • 10Running
  • 2Replaced
  • 2Discontinued
  • 2Unclear
  • Serious Games M.S.University of California, Santa CruzDiscontinued
  • Serious Games master's, one yearUniversity of SkövdeReplaced
  • MS in Games for LearningNew York UniversityRunning
  • Digital Learning Games MATallinn UniversityRunning

Open the degree tracker

7Funding

Public funding for studios and research

Much serious game work is paid for by public grants. Four open databases list them. Each figure counts records that match one of four search phrases, before duplicates are removed.

  • United States318SBIR.govSmall business innovation awards
  • United States258NSF Award SearchNational Science Foundation awards
  • United Kingdom86UKRI Gateway to ResearchResearch council and Innovate UK projects
  • European Union84CORDISHorizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects

Browse the funding recordsBrowse the studios

8Articles

Articles: single games in depth

Longer pieces follow single serious games examples and single fields, each one with the current status of the games it names. These are the most cited.

All articles by year

9Questions

Frequently asked questions

What is a serious game?

A serious game is built for a purpose beyond entertainment: training a skill, teaching a subject or supporting health. It keeps the rules, feedback and goals of a game and uses them to make practice stick.

What do Playable, Successor and Discontinued mean?

Playable means the official page answered at the last check and offered the game. Successor means the maker names a newer version or a rebuilt part. Discontinued means the maker says the game is gone.

How often is a status checked?

Once a month. Every entry shows the month of its last check, so a reader can judge how fresh the status is.

Is there a game for teaching CPR?

Yes. The CPR line lists Lifesaver by Resuscitation Council UK as playable. An early version of CPR Trainer, the rhythm game built for this site, can be played on its page.

How much does it cost to commission a serious game?

Public studio quotes in US dollars run from $3,000 for a short game to over $1,000,000 for a large one. One studio states $250,000 to $400,000 as its typical project.

Where is the full serious games list?

The complete serious games list sits in the directory, grouped by the same lines as the board on this page. The about page names the editorial team.