NGES 2027 Immersive Play & Intelligent Worlds

Call for Papers

From traditional game systems to NGES

Research tracks and submission topics for the conference.

From Traditional game systems

To NGES

2027 Theme · Immersive Play & Intelligent Worlds
When worlds become more immersive and systems more intelligent, how do we craft play that is engaging, fair, sustainable, and worth sharing?

Systems Engines, platforms & realtime tech
Play Immersion, interaction & experience
Worlds Content, culture & entertainment

Conference Scope

The International Conference on Next-generation Gaming and Entertainment Systems (NGES) convenes at a pivotal moment for interactive entertainment: as research and practice evolve from Traditional game systems toward NGES. Where classical game systems focused on fixed platforms and authored content, next-generation entertainment asks how intelligent, immersive, and connected systems reshape play, production, and culture. NGES 2027 invites rigorous work that designs, builds, evaluates, or studies gaming and entertainment systems at the frontier of technology and experience.

Under the theme “Immersive Play & Intelligent Worlds,” The 2027 conference examines how next-generation gaming and entertainment systems can deliver richer play, deeper immersion, and more meaningful shared experiences — through advances in systems, interaction, content, and player well-being. We seek contributions that bridge engines and player experience, AI-driven content and creative practice, and technical innovation with accessibility, fairness, and cultural impact — helping the field move toward entertainment systems that are immersive, intelligent, and worth sharing.

The program is organized into two tracks — Systems, Engines & Immersive Technologies and Play Experience, Culture & Entertainment Ecosystems — reflecting the full arc from how interactive worlds are engineered to how they are played, produced, and situated in society. Topics include, but are not limited to, those listed below. Cross-disciplinary and cross-track submissions are welcome.

Track A · Systems Track B · Play & Culture

A Systems, Engines & Immersive Technologies Game Systems, Engines & Immersive Tech B Play Experience, Culture & Entertainment Ecosystems Players, Design, Culture & Industry

NGES 2027 welcomes researchers and practitioners from games research, computer graphics, HCI, AI/ML, XR, networking, multimedia, design, media studies, and industry. Whether your work advances engines and platforms or deepens understanding of play and entertainment culture, we invite you to contribute systems, evidence, design, and critique that shape the next generation of interactive worlds.

Research Program

Research Tracks

Two tracks structure the research program. Track A centers on the technologies that power next-generation entertainment — engines, graphics, networking, XR, and AI for games. Track B examines play experience, design, communities, culture, and the entertainment ecosystems in which those systems live.

This track centers on the engineering foundations of gaming and entertainment systems — engines, rendering, simulation, networking, XR platforms, and AI-driven pipelines. It asks how next-generation architectures can deliver richer worlds, lower latency, smarter content tools, and more scalable shared play across devices and modalities.

We seek research that designs, builds, evaluates, or critically examines the technical substrate of interactive entertainment — from novel engine features and cloud gaming stacks to immersive interfaces and intelligent production tools. Submissions may draw on systems, graphics, networking, AI, multimedia, or HCI methods; research on any platform, genre, or production context is welcome.

Research themes & topics

Game engines, tooling & authoring systemsEngine architecture, editor workflows, modular pipelines, and tools that accelerate creative production

Realtime graphics, rendering & simulationLighting, geometry, physics, animation systems, and performance for next-gen visual fidelity

XR, spatial computing & immersive platformsVR/AR/MR entertainment systems, presence, haptics, tracking, and spatial interaction hardware/software

Networking, multiplayer & cloud gamingLatency mitigation, synchronization, matchmaking, streaming architectures, and scalable live services

AI for gameplay, NPCs & procedural contentAdaptive difficulty, behavior trees and learning agents, PCG, and intelligent world population

Generative AI for entertainment productionAsset generation, dialogue systems, level design assistance, and AI-assisted creative pipelines

Cross-platform & edge entertainment systemsMobile, console, PC, and hybrid deployments; performance portability and device-aware experiences

Interactive audio, music & multimodal systemsSpatial audio, adaptive soundtracks, voice interaction, and multimodal entertainment interfaces

Telemetry, analytics & live-ops infrastructurePlayer data pipelines, experimentation platforms, content update systems, and operational reliability

Security, integrity & anti-cheat systemsFair play enforcement, account security, content protection, and trustworthy competitive platforms

Performance, energy & sustainable systemsEfficiency for high-fidelity play, carbon-aware infrastructure, and greener entertainment platforms

Novel controllers, sensing & embodied inputNew input devices, biometric sensing, full-body interaction, and accessibility-oriented hardware

Entertainment systems succeed or fail in play. This track examines player experience, game design, communities, esports, creative labor, and the cultural and industrial contexts of next-generation gaming. It asks how immersive and intelligent systems affect engagement, inclusion, identity, and the health of entertainment ecosystems.

We invite rigorous work — from any discipline — that studies, designs, or critiques play and entertainment practice. This includes accessibility and inclusive design, narrative and interaction design, community moderation, esports and spectatorship, industry studies, and ethical questions around engagement, monetization, and well-being. Research that connects player experience to real systems and platforms is especially welcome.

Research themes & topics

Player experience, immersion & engagementFlow, presence, motivation, onboarding, retention, and evaluation methods for playful systems

Game design, narrative & interactive storytellingMechanics, level design, branching narrative, emergent storytelling, and design methodologies

Accessibility & inclusive playDesign for diverse abilities, adaptive interfaces, localization, and equitable access to entertainment

Esports, competitive play & spectatorshipTournament systems, fairness, coaching analytics, fan experience, and broadcast technologies

Communities, social play & multiplayer cultureGuilds, co-op dynamics, toxicity mitigation, moderation, and healthy online communities

Well-being, healthy engagement & player safetyAddiction-aware design, dark patterns, youth safety, and long-term effects of play

Streaming, creators & participatory entertainmentLive content ecosystems, creator tools, UGC platforms, and audience–player hybrid experiences

Industry, studios & creative laborProduction practices, crunch culture, indie ecosystems, platform economics, and creative work

Monetization, live services & player economiesBattle passes, virtual goods, fairness of economies, and player perceptions of value

Cross-cultural play & global entertainmentLocalization, cultural adaptation, Global South perspectives, and transnational player communities

Games for learning, health & serious playEducational games, therapeutic applications, simulation training, and transfer of playful systems

Ethics, sustainability & responsible entertainmentEnvironmental impact, data ethics, representation, and governance of entertainment platforms