Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles
What information about a video game should be included in the bibliography?
There are various types of games: computer, console, mobile, browser, etc. However, they all require the same data to be included when compiling a bibliographic reference. Typically, it is sufficient to indicate the author (developer), publisher, game title, and publication date.
If you are referring to a specific version or edition of a video game, then this information must also be included. Additionally, you can include data about the device on which the game is running in the 'Edition' field. For example: 'PS5 Edition'.
Since various aspects of the game can be the subject of research (e.g., music, dialogues, plot, graphics, etc.), it is desirable to also indicate the names of the individuals responsible for these aspects. For example: 'Soundtrack by Bill Elm and Woody Jackson'.
Some citation styles may also require additional data, such as system requirements or the publisher's city.
How to create a bibliographic reference for a video game
Creating a bibliographic reference for a video game follows a specific structure determined by the chosen citation style. To begin, you should determine the citation style required for your work. This information is typically provided in author guidelines on scientific journal websites or other documentation published by universities or organizations.
If the desired citation style is available on Grafiati (you can check this on the main page), you're in luck! You can skip the additional steps. Simply select the desired style from the main page menu and add video games or other sources to your bibliography. Your bibliographic references will be automatically created according to the rules of the selected standard. Moreover, you can reuse the created list of sources for other papers that require different citation styles, as all the data can be converted between styles with a click of a button.
If you have the time and energy to manually create a bibliography, you will need to find the citation rules for each type of source you need and compile and sort all the data by hand to give it the required structure.
Examples of game citations in the reference list
Below is a table we have compiled, which provides examples of bibliographic references to games according to popular citation styles.
| APA (7th ed.) | Rockstar Games. (2019). Red dead redemption 2 (Ultimate Edition) [Video game]. | Sledgehammer Games & Raven Software. (2017). Call of duty®: WWII [Video game]. Activision. | Barone, E. (2016). Stardew valley (Version 1.0) [Video game]. Chucklefish. | CD PROJEKT RED. (2015). The witcher® 3: Wild hunt [Video game]. | Iron Gate AB. (2021). Valheim (Hearth & Home, version 0.202.14) [Video game]. Coffee Stain Publishing. |
| Vancouver | Rockstar Games. Red dead redemption 2 [video game]. Ultimate Edition. [place unknown]: Rockstar Games; 2019. | Sledgehammer Games; Raven Software. Call of duty®: WWII [video game]. [place unknown]: Activision; 2017. | Barone E. Stardew valley [video game]. Version 1.0. [place unknown]: Chucklefish; 2016. | CD PROJEKT RED. The witcher® 3: wild hunt [video game]. [place unknown]: CD PROJEKT RED; 2015. | Iron Gate AB. Valheim [video game]. Hearth & Home; version 0.202.14. [place unknown]: Coffee Stain Publishing; 2021. |
| ISO 690:2010 | ROCKSTAR GAMES. Red dead redemption 2 [game]. Ultimate Edition. Rockstar Games, 2019. Windows 10, Intel® Core™ i7-4770K / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X, 12 GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB / AMD Radeon RX 480 4GB. | SLEDGEHAMMER GAMES, and RAVEN SOFTWARE. Call of duty®:WWII [game]. Activision, 2017. | BARONE, Eric. Stardew valley [game]. Version 1.0. Chucklefish, 2016. | CD PROJEKT RED. The witcher® 3: wild hunt [game]. CD PROJEKT RED, 2015. | IRON GATE AB. Valheim [game]. Version 0.202.14. Hearth & Home. Coffee Stain Publishing, 2021. |
| Chicago (17th ed.) (notes and bibliography) | Rockstar Games. Red Dead Redemption 2. Ultimate Edition. Rockstar Games, 2019. Windows 10, Intel® Core™ i7-4770K / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X, 12 GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB / AMD Radeon RX 480 4GB. | Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software. Call of Duty®: WWII. Activision, 2017. | Barone, Eric. Stardew Valley. V. 1.0. Chucklefish, 2016. | CD PROJEKT RED. The Witcher® 3: Wild Hunt. CD PROJEKT RED, 2015. | Iron Gate AB. Valheim. Hearth & Home, v. 0.202.14. Coffee Stain Publishing, 2021. |
| Harvard (Cite Them Right 12th ed.) | Rockstar Games (2019) Red dead redemption 2 [Video game]. Rockstar Games. | Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software (2017) Call of duty®: WWII [Video game]. Activision. | Barone, E. (2016) Stardew valley [Video game]. Chucklefish. | CD PROJEKT RED (2015) The witcher® 3: wild hunt [Video game]. CD PROJEKT RED. | Iron Gate AB (2021) Valheim [Video game]. Coffee Stain Publishing. |
| MLA (9th ed.) | Rockstar Games. Red Dead Redemption 2. Ultimate Edition, Rockstar Games, 5 Dec. 2019. | Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software. Call of Duty®: WWII. Activision, 3 Nov. 2017. | Barone, Eric. Stardew Valley. Version 1.0, Chucklefish, 26 Feb. 2016. | CD PROJEKT RED. The Witcher® 3: Wild Hunt. CD PROJEKT RED, 18 May 2015. | Iron Gate AB. Valheim. Version 0.202.14, Hearth & Home, Coffee Stain Publishing, 16 Sep. 2021. |
| MHRA (3rd ed.) (notes and bibliography) | Rockstar Games, Red Dead Redemption 2 (2019), Windows 10, Intel® Core™ i7-4770K / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X, 12 GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB / AMD Radeon RX 480 4GB | Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software, Call of Duty®: WWII (2017) | Barone, Eric, Stardew Valley (2016) | CD PROJEKT RED, The Witcher® 3: Wild Hunt (2015) | Iron Gate AB, Valheim (2021) |
All the references in the table were generated using Grafiati algorithms, ensuring accurate bibliographic records without the need for manual corrections. You can enjoy this quality of automatic citation on grafiati.com! Try creating your first free bibliography now.