Yes, you have to cite that video game. The days of seeing games as simple toys are long gone, and academics now recognize these complex interactive experiences as rich texts worthy of study. Properly citing a video game shows that you take your subject seriously and gives your reader a clear path to the exact source you used. It’s a fundamental piece of good scholarship. This guide explains how to cite a video game without the headache.
TLDR: The Core Five
A complete video game citation needs five key pieces of information, regardless of the style format you’re using. Think of it as the game’s fingerprint:
- Title: The full, official title of the video game.
- Developer: The main creative team or company that made the game.
- Publisher: The company that distributed and sold the game.
- Version Number: The specific patch or build of the game you played.
- Publication Date: The year of publication for that specific version.
- Platform: The console or system you played it on (e.g., PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch).
How to Cite a Video Game: Step-by-Step
- Gather the five core elements: Game title, developer, publisher, version number, and platform. These are the same regardless of your citation format.
- Choose your citation style: MLA 9, APA 7, Chicago, or Harvard. Each style arranges the same information differently.
- Format the citation: Use the examples in this guide or a free citation generator to build the correctly formatted entry.
- Add in-text citations: Reference the game’s developer in parentheses wherever you quote, paraphrase, or summarize gameplay content.
- Add to works cited or bibliography: Place the full game citation in your reference list at the end of the paper.
Breaking Down the Core Components
Let’s look at each piece of the video game citation puzzle. Finding this information can feel like a side quest, but it’s usually on the game’s packaging, title screen, or in the digital storefront. A complete video game citation requires the same careful attention as any other source. The same approach matters whenever you cite any source in an academic essay.
Game Title and Developer
Always use the complete and official game title, including any subtitles. It’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, not just Zelda. The developer is the studio that did the creative work, like FromSoftware or Insomniac Games. The publisher is the entity that brought the game to market, such as Nintendo or Sony. Sometimes, the developer and publisher are the same company. If they are different, you list both. Style guides like MLA place the developer with the publisher because their roles can be deeply intertwined, and this approach avoids confusion.
Quick Tip: For most modern games, a quick search online will clarify the exact developer and publisher if you can’t find it in the game itself. The publisher name is a crucial part of the citation.
Version, Publication, and Platform
Why does the version number matter so much? Because a video game is not a static object. A massive update can add content, fix bugs, or completely rebalance the gameplay, making version 1.0 a very different experience from version 2.5. Citing the correct version number ensures your reader knows exactly which state of the game you analyzed. The year of publication should correspond to that version’s release. Finally, listing the platform is essential because a game can have variations between its PC, Xbox, or Nintendo release. This is a critical part of any video game citation.
Online Games, DLC, and Live-Service Updates
Online games and live-service titles add a few wrinkles to the standard video game citation format. For a game you accessed through a digital storefront such as Steam or Epic Games, include the store page URL as a retrieval link in APA format. For DLC, treat the expansion as a separately titled work and note the base game as the host title. Live-service games that have shut down should be cited with the original release year and a note that the service has ended. When you cite an online source, the retrieval date matters only when the content is likely to change, which makes ongoing live games a special case.
Supergiant Games. (2020). Hades [Video game]. Supergiant Games. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1145360/Hades/
MLA & APA Examples
The two most common formats for video game citations are MLA and APA. They organize the same core information in different ways. The official MLA guidance on citing video games and the APA Style reference examples are both worth bookmarking. The table below gives you a direct side-by-side comparison.
| Element | MLA 9 Format | APA 7 Format |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Title of the Video Game: Subtitle. | Title of the video game: Subtitle. |
| Version | Version xxx, | (Release Year). |
| Publisher | Developer / Publisher, | [Video game]. Publisher. |
| Publication Date | Year of Publication. | (Information included earlier). |
| Platform | Platform. | (Not explicitly required in APA, but often helpful). |
Here are color-coded examples showing the format in action:
MLA 9 Example (single-studio game):
Hades. Supergiant Games, 2020. Nintendo Switch version.
APA 7 Example (same game):
Supergiant Games. (2020). Hades [Video game]. Supergiant Games.
MLA 9 Example (split developer and publisher):
Elden Ring. FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Entertainment, 2022. PC version.
Chicago and Harvard Formats
If your instructor requires Chicago or Harvard style for a video game citation, the same core five elements apply, arranged differently. Chicago is the most common third format when students need to know how to cite a video game for a humanities course. For Chicago author-date, treat the developer as the primary author. A Chicago citation generator can format the entry correctly if you’re unsure of the order.
Chicago Author-Date Example:
Supergiant Games. 2020. Hades. Version 1.0. PC.
Harvard Example:
Supergiant Games (2020) Hades [Video game]. Version 1.0. PC.
Chicago note: Chicago notes-bibliography style (common in humanities) cites video games in footnotes with the same elements, but adds the access date for digital-only titles.
Citing Specific In-Game Moments
Here’s something many guides miss: how to cite a specific piece of in-game content. What if you need to reference a particular line of dialogue, a quest, or a cutscene? You can’t use a page number. I remember writing a paper on player choice and needing to pinpoint the exact dialogue in Mass Effect that defined a character’s arc. Citing it directly made my argument much stronger.
The method works like introducing a quotation from any source: describe the moment in your prose, then provide the standard video game citation in your works cited list. For in-text citations, reference the quest name, chapter, level title, or a timestamp from a recorded playthrough.
- Quest or chapter: Reference the quest name in your sentence: (CD Projekt Red, “The Bloody Baron” questline)
- Dialogue: Transcribe the exact line and include a timestamp from a playthrough recording if you have one.
- Cutscene or screenshot: Treat it like a film still. Note the time marker and cite the base game.
The moral conflict of the entire game is crystallized during the quest “The Bloody Baron,” where the player’s choices lead to one of several grim outcomes for the central characters (CD Projekt Red).
This method treats the video game as a living text, allowing you to perform close readings just as you would with a novel or film. The same citation logic applies when you cite films or other time-based media.
A Note on Titles and Esports
A common question is whether to put a game title in italics or quotation marks. The rule is simple: individual video game titles are italicized, just like books, films, and music albums. According to the Chicago Manual of Style, the term “esports” itself is not italicized or capitalized, and specific competitive games follow the standard italicization rule.
What if I can’t find the developer or publisher for a game?
This can happen with very old or obscure indie games. Do your best to find the information online. If you absolutely cannot locate the publisher or developer, you may have to omit that information. Transparency is key, so you could add a note explaining the omission if it feels significant for the game you’re discussing.
How do I cite a video game I played on an emulator?
You should always cite the original game’s information. List the original developer, publisher, year of publication, and original platform. The fact that you accessed it via emulation is a detail about your method of access, not a property of the game itself. You can mention your use of an emulator in a footnote or in the body of your text if it’s relevant to your discussion.
What about mods? Do I need to cite them?
Yes, absolutely. Mods can dramatically alter a video game. To cite a mod, treat the mod’s creator or team as the author and the mod’s name as the title. Then, indicate that it is a modification of the original game. For example: “Aetherium Wars. Created by Lautaro ‘ladda’ Castagnola. Version 1.2, modification for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, 2023.” This gives proper credit to the modding community’s creative work.
This is a lot to remember. Is there an easier way?
Of course. Once you understand the components, using a tool can speed things up. A good free citation generator can help you build an accurate video game citation quickly. Just plug in the information you’ve gathered, select your style, and it will generate the correct format for you. It’s a great way to check your work.
Do I cite the developer or the publisher as the author?
Style guides differ on this. MLA 9 places both developer and publisher in the publisher element, separated by a slash when they differ. APA 7 uses the publisher name as the primary identifier. If the developer and publisher are the same company, list it once. When in doubt, follow the guidance of your specific style manual or ask your instructor.
Knowing how to cite a video game correctly is a mark of scholarly precision. It validates the medium as a serious subject for analysis and strengthens your academic voice. For a broader look at how citations work across source types, visit the complete citation guide.
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Terry is a Chicago-based writer and editor who creates practical, student-friendly guides on essay writing, research, and citation styles (APA, MLA, and Chicago). He’s spent 15+ years editing educational content and building clear examples that help readers apply rules without guessing. When he’s not revising drafts, he’s usually turning messy notes into clean outlines and hunting down the one detail everyone skips.