{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T23:29:53Z","timestamp":1777937393335,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,3]],"date-time":"2025-01-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1735862400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["New Media &amp; Society"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>The gig economy has been explored recently in the media through videos, films, and series. Similarly, different video games have shown the ideology, values, and mechanisms that govern the gig economy. This article applies six mechanisms of algorithmic control at work to achieve a dual objective: to analyze how platform workers experience algorithmic control and to examine the extent to which video games, as a medium for raising critical awareness, reflect these workers\u2019 experiences. We analyzed interviews with 42 platform workers in different sectors and six video games that address this topic. Our findings reveal that these games consistently mirror the dynamics and experiences arising from platform control. Furthermore, through specific elements of their meaningfulness (such as narrative, rules systems, and mechanics, among others), video games simulate situations and processes, sometimes opaque to workers, portraying the reality of the gig economy more explicitly and transparently.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/14614448241307036","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,4]],"date-time":"2025-01-04T02:04:34Z","timestamp":1735956274000},"page":"1102-1124","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Video games as spaces for providing information and awareness of algorithmic control in the gig economy"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"28","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3004-3242","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marta","family":"Fern\u00e1ndez-Ruiz","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4847-4734","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Martina","family":"Pi\u00f1a","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pompeu Fabra University, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2060-4544","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"J\u00falia","family":"Vilas\u00eds-Pamos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pompeu Fabra University, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_3_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tourman.2020.104235"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.elerap.2019.100835"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7551\/mitpress\/5334.001.0001"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/13548565231153505"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1097184X12454854"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/20539517221133779"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/j.ctv1hw3z1d.7"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_9_1","volume-title":"Games of Empire: Global Capitalism and Video Games","author":"Dyer-Witheford N","year":"2009","unstructured":"Dyer-Witheford N, De Peuter G (2009) Games of Empire: Global Capitalism and Video Games. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4324\/9781351140089"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7551\/mitpress\/9016.001.0001"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0018726718790002"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/15554120221105461"},{"issue":"4","key":"e_1_3_3_14_1","article-title":"Algorithmic control in platform food delivery work","volume":"5","author":"Griesbach K","year":"2019","unstructured":"Griesbach K, Reich A, Elliott-Negri L, et al (2019) Algorithmic control in platform food delivery work. Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World 5(4): 237802311987004.","journal-title":"Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_15_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10606-019-09368-7"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_16_1","volume-title":"Handmade Pixels: Independent Video Games and the Quest for Authenticity","author":"Juul J","year":"2019","unstructured":"Juul J (2019) Handmade Pixels: Independent Video Games and the Quest for Authenticity. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_17_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.5465\/annals.2018.0174"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_18_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10551-016-3304-6"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4324\/9780429467929-3"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_20_1","first-page":"19","volume-title":"Gamificaci\u00f3n en Iberoam\u00e9rica. Experiencias desde la comunicaci\u00f3n y la educaci\u00f3n","author":"Ma\u00f1as-Viniegra L","year":"2018","unstructured":"Ma\u00f1as-Viniegra L (2018) Los newsgames. An\u00e1lisis de su contenido gamificado por formatos period\u00edsticos inmersivos. In: Romero-Rodr\u00edguez LM, Torres-Toukoumidis A (eds) Gamificaci\u00f3n en Iberoam\u00e9rica. Experiencias desde la comunicaci\u00f3n y la educaci\u00f3n. Quito, Ecuador: Abya Yala, pp. 19\u201333."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_21_1","volume-title":"Libertad dirigida. Una gram\u00e1tica del an\u00e1lisis y dise\u00f1o de videojuegos","author":"Navarro Remesal VM","year":"2016","unstructured":"Navarro Remesal VM (2016) Libertad dirigida. Una gram\u00e1tica del an\u00e1lisis y dise\u00f1o de videojuegos. Santander: Shangrila Ediciones."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_22_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1108\/INTR-03-2018-0134"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_23_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1354856516680324"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_24_1","volume-title":"Imaginarios ludonarrativos. An\u00e1lisis intertextual de juegos, videojuegos y ficci\u00f3n audiovisual","author":"P\u00e9rez-Latorre O","year":"2023","unstructured":"P\u00e9rez-Latorre O (2023) Imaginarios ludonarrativos. An\u00e1lisis intertextual de juegos, videojuegos y ficci\u00f3n audiovisual. Santander: Shangrila Ediciones."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_25_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1354856517744489"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_26_1","author":"Pink S","year":"2016","unstructured":"Pink S, Horst HA, Postill J, et al. (2016) Digital ethnography: principles and practice. London, UK: Sage.","journal-title":"Digital ethnography: principles and practice"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_27_1","volume-title":"Platforms and Cultural Production","author":"Poell T","year":"2022","unstructured":"Poell T, Nieborg D, Duffy BE (2022) Platforms and Cultural Production. Cambridge: Polity Press."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_28_1","volume-title":"Life and Death in the Warehouse","author":"Rafaele A","year":"2022","unstructured":"Rafaele A, Bullman J (Directors) (2022) Life and Death in the Warehouse [Movie]. London: BBC Drama Productions."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_29_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1525\/9780520970632"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_30_1","first-page":"3758","article-title":"Algorithmic labor and information asymmetries: a case study of Uber\u2019s drivers","volume":"10","author":"Rosenblat A","year":"2016","unstructured":"Rosenblat A, Stark L (2016) Algorithmic labor and information asymmetries: a case study of Uber\u2019s drivers. International Journal of Communication 10: 3758\u20133784.","journal-title":"International Journal of Communication"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_31_1","volume-title":"Independent Videogames: Cultures, Networks, Techniques and Politics","author":"Ruffino P","year":"2021","unstructured":"Ruffino P (2021) Independent Videogames: Cultures, Networks, Techniques and Politics. New York: Routledge."},{"issue":"3","key":"e_1_3_3_32_1","first-page":"794","article-title":"Hosting as a lifestyle: the case of Airbnb digital platform and Lisbon hosts","volume":"12","author":"Saturnino R","year":"2019","unstructured":"Saturnino R, Sousa H (2019) Hosting as a lifestyle: the case of Airbnb digital platform and Lisbon hosts. Partecipazione e conflitto 12(3): 794\u2013818.","journal-title":"Partecipazione e conflitto"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_33_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3402942.3403008"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_34_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1461444817738236"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_35_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-63261-8"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_36_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0950017019862954"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_37_1","volume-title":"Riders","author":"Valera J","year":"2021","unstructured":"Valera J, Alcaraz A, Abad B (Directors) (2021) Riders [Series]. Madrid: RTVE and Playz."},{"key":"e_1_3_3_38_1","volume-title":"El videojuego como medio de reivindicaci\u00f3n pol\u00edtica y social","author":"Venegas A","year":"2021","unstructured":"Venegas A, Moreno A (2021) El videojuego como medio de reivindicaci\u00f3n pol\u00edtica y social. Santander: Shangrila."},{"issue":"3","key":"e_1_3_3_39_1","first-page":"67","article-title":"The algorithmic panopticon at Deliveroo: measurement, precarity, and the illusion of control","volume":"20","author":"Woodcock J","year":"2020","unstructured":"Woodcock J (2020) The algorithmic panopticon at Deliveroo: measurement, precarity, and the illusion of control. Ephemera 20(3): 67\u201395.","journal-title":"Ephemera"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_40_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/14614448231222944"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_2_1","unstructured":"The Uber Game (version Mac and Windows) [Video game]. (2017). The Financial Times. Online in: https:\/\/ig.ft.com\/uber-game"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_3_1","unstructured":"The Amazon Race (version Mac and Windows) [Video game]. (2019). ABC News Story Lab."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_4_1","unstructured":"Escape the Gig Economy or GIGCO (version Android and iOS) [Video game]. (2019). Cat Bluemke."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_5_1","unstructured":"Neo Cab (version Mac Nintendo and Windows) [Video game]. (2019). Chance Agency."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_6_1","unstructured":"Embr (version Nintendo PlayStation Xbox and Windows) [Video game]. (2019). Muse Games."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_7_1","unstructured":"Penny Larceny: Gig Economy Supervillain (version Linux Mac and Windows) [Video game]. (2023). Fiction Factory."}],"container-title":["New Media &amp; Society"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/14614448241307036","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1177\/14614448241307036","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/14614448241307036","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,2]],"date-time":"2026-05-02T04:03:11Z","timestamp":1777694591000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/14614448241307036"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,3]]},"references-count":45,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1177\/14614448241307036"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/14614448241307036","relation":{},"ISSN":["1461-4448","1461-7315"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1461-4448","type":"print"},{"value":"1461-7315","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,3]]}}}