The Fourth International Conference of DiGRA Mexico will take place in Mexico City on June 29 and 30, 2026.
Under the theme “Simulation, Play, and the Digital Society,” this conference explores how simulated environments and playful media shape contemporary digital life. The conference invites researchers, developers, and practitioners to examine the cultural, social, and technological impact of games and simulations, and to reflect on their role in shaping digital citizenship, creativity, and collective futures.
Venue: Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Dirección de Servicios Empresariales y Transferencia Tecnológica. Unidad Profesional, Edificio Adolfo Ruiz, Av. Wilfrido Massieu S/N, Adolfo López Mateos, Gustavo A. Madero, 07700 Cd. de México.
The results will be published in the conference proceedings with a DOI, and selected extended papers will be published in journals (to be announced).
Thematic Areas
- Simulations – Models, virtual worlds, and computational systems that replicate or reinterpret reality.
- Playful Culture – Social practices, creativity, and identity shaped through play.
- Digital Society – Interactions, behaviors, and structures emerging from digital technologies.
- Adaptation and Transformation of the Industry – Shifts, challenges, and innovations shaping the game industry.
- Games and Their Relationship with Society – Cultural, political, and social implications of games.
- eSports – Competitive gaming, performance, communities, and ecosystems.
- Serious Games – Games designed for learning, training, health, or social change.
- Games and Education – Pedagogical uses, learning processes, and educational integration of games.
- Ludonarratives – Storytelling, narrative design, and meaning-making in interactive experiences.
- Game Design – Methods, mechanics, aesthetics, and creative processes in game creation.
- Analog Games – Board games, card games, tabletop role-playing, and hybrid formats.
- Industry Relations – Business models, labor, markets, and economic structures of the game sector.
- History and Archaeology – Historical analysis, preservation, and cultural heritage of games.
- Research with Social Impact – Projects connecting games with community, ethics, and social transformation.
- Games and Technology – AI, engines, hardware, tools, and technological innovation in games.
- Gamification – Game elements applied in non-game contexts for engagement and motivation.
Keynote Speakers
To be announced.
Call for papers
The presentation can be either in-person or online. The submission of proposals is not limited to Mexicans.
Papers
Should present ongoing research, preliminary results, innovative ideas, work-in-progress, or focused contributions that may not yet be mature enough for a full paper but are nevertheless of clear relevance to the conference topics.
Length
Short papers must be between 6 and 11 pages, including introduction, objectives, methods, results, conclusion, references, figures, and tables. Papers that do not comply with the page limits will be rejected without review.
Formatting
Authors must use the template. All papers must be written in English. Once the communication is formatted according to the template, it must be uploaded to Microsoft CMT. TUTORIAL step by step here.
Review Process
- Papers undergo a double-blind peer-review process.
- Each submission is reviewed by at least three reviewers from the Program Committee or external reviewers.
- Evaluation criteria include originality, relevance, technical quality, clarity, and contribution to the field.
Publication
- Accepted papers will be published in a volume of the conference.
- All accepted papers must be presented at the conference by at least one registered author.
- All papers submitted for publication will undergo a plagiarism check.
Deadline for proposal submission: March 31, 2026
The submission deadline will not be extended.
Acceptance notification: May 8, 2026
Deadline for finale papers: May 25, 2026
- Each speaker will have a maximum of 10 minutes to present their communication to the attending audience.
- At the end of the presentations, a Q&A session will be opened regarding the communications presented.
- Communications will be both in-person and online and can be conducted in Spanish or English.
- Online speakers must ensure that they meet the technical requirements and make the necessary preparations prior to their session to guarantee a smooth and efficient presentation flow.
Workshop Proposal Submission
Workshop proposals will be selected by the conference organizers based on non-anonymous submissions. Workshops should not exceed 55 minutes. Proposals should be submitted to contreras.ruth@ub.edu / belp@azc.uam.mx
Submission deadline: March 31, 2026
General Public Registration
This form will keep a record of the general public who wish to attend the 4th International Conference of DiGRA Mexico. Registration is mandatory. Registration deadline: June 20, 2026.
DiGRA Mexico 2026 will be structured as a five-day hub of interconnected events. The academic conference will take place on June 29 and 30, 2026, while the remaining activities -including game jam, industry – oriented sessions, and creative events – will be held on July 1, 2, and 3, 2026. This multi-day format is designed to foster dialogue between research, industry, and creative practice within the field of game studies.
The Microsoft CMT service was used for managing the peer-reviewing process for this conference. This service was provided for free by Microsoft and they bore all expenses, including costs for Azure cloud services as well as for software development and support.