LUDIC CULTURE HUB

Leveraging Play for Innovation, Education, and Transformative Futures

Games are a significant economic and cultural sector and shape social interaction, creative practice and civic participation. In the last 20 years, Zurich has established itself as a centre for game design, development and research. The universities offer relevant degree programmes and research units, complemented by a growing industry centred around the Swiss Game Hub. Until now, however, there has been no shared structure to bring these areas of expertise together and bridge disciplinary boundaries.

The LUDIC CULTURE HUB is taking on this role. A physical space is being created–located at the Swiss Game Hub–where Zurich’s four universities will work alongside industry, the education sector and public institutions on research, teaching and cultural outreach in the field of games. The LUDIC CULTURE HUB takes a broad view of ‘ludic culture’–as the practice of playing through ideas, scenarios and possible futures, not merely as gaming in the narrower sense.

The collaboration is structured around four dimensions, each led by a different university:

Ludic Social Analysis (UZH) examines the societal impacts of games;
Ludic Experience and Experiments (ZHdK) explores ludic methods for design, art and research and maintains a collection of historical game devices and games;
Ludic Education (PHZH) explores and shapes meaningful uses of games in education;
Ludic Sustainability (ZHAW) focuses on games as a means of promoting sustainability, as well as on the sustainability of the games industry itself.

Cross-cutting themes such as digital literacy, artificial intelligence and inclusion are integrated into all dimensions.

Implementation takes place through specific flagship initiatives with clearly defined outcomes, supported by the universities in collaboration with industry and educational partners such as the Volksschulamt Zurich, the Sustainable Game Alliance, the Swiss Game Developers Association, the Game Technology Center at the ETH Zurich and the Cologne Game Lab, as well as with other DIZH structures like IMMERSE and DHD LL.

In doing so, the LUDIC CULTURE HUB establishes a lasting institutional home for game research, education and cultural practice in Zurich, one designed to grow beyond its initial funding phase into a long-term foundation for interdisciplinary collaboration.

Details

Team:
Dr. Hiloko Kato
UZH Deutsches Seminar

Stefan Schmidlin
ZHdK Departement Design, Game Design

Prof. Dr. Bernadette Spieler
PHZH Zentrum Bildung und Digitaler Wandel, Medienbildung und Informatik

Prof. Dr. Andri Gerber
ZHAW School of Architecture, Design and Civil Engineering

Prof. Dr. Christine Lötscher
UZH ISEK – Institut für Sozialanthropologie und Empirische Kulturwissenschaft, Populäre Kulturen

Prof. Dr. Felix K. Maier
UZH Historisches Seminar

Dr. Benjamin Wildling
UZH Department of Finance

Ladina Tschander
UZH Universitätsbibliothek

Dr. Beat Suter
ZHdK Departement Design, Game Design

Nija Sonja Böckler
ZHdK Departement Design, Game Design

Prof. Ulrich Götz
ZHdK Departement Design, Game Design

Adrian Degonda
PHZH Medienbildung und Informatik

Prof. Dr. Christian Mathis
PHZH Forschungsgruppe Didaktiken der Gesellschaftswissenschaften

Dr. Thorsten Busch
ZHAW School of Management and Law

Dr. Elena Gavagnin
ZHAW School of Management and Law

Academic Partners:
ETH Game Technology Center

ZKSD Zurich Knowledge Center for Sustainable Development

Prof. Dr. Sonia Fizek
TH Köln, Cologne Game Lab (CGL)

Prof. Dr. Daniel Süss, Pascal Streule und Svenja Deda-Bröchin
ZHAW Angewandte Psychologie

Francesco Bortoluzzi
ZHAW Leitung Nachhaltigkeitsprogramme

Digital Health Design Living Lab

IMMERSE

Practice Partners:
Kanton Zürich, Amt für Wirtschaft, Standortförderung

Kanton Zürich, Volksschulamt

Thomas Müller & Robin Fürst
Game Studies im Deutschunterricht (Digital Learning Hub Sek II)

Sekundarschule Seehalde

Archijeunes

Swiss Game Developers Association

Sustainable Games Alliance (SGA)

Inlusio Interavicte

Advisory Board:
Prof. Dr. Johanna Pirker, TU Munich / TU Graz
Prof. Dr. Stephan Günzel, University of Applied Sciences Europe, Berlin
Prof. Dr. Gundolf Freyermuth, Cologne Game Lab
Prof. Dr. Mary Flanagan, Dartmouth College
Prof. Dr. Margarete Jahrmann, University of Applied Arts Vienna (Die Angewandte Wien)
Prof. Dr. Joost Vervoort, Utrecht University
Christian Brändle, Museum für Gestaltung Zürich
Prof. Daniel Barber, Eindhoven University of Technology (TU Eindhoven)
Katharina Schneider-Roos, Sustainable Game Alliance, B Lab Switzerland
Florence Chee, Loyola University Chicago
Tanja Sihvonen, University of Vaasa
Masiar Babazadeh, SUPSI (University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland)
Dr. Alexander Steinmaurer, IT:U Austria (Institute for Interactive Media, Austria)
Dr. Elias Stouraitis, Ionian University & Demokritus University of Thrace, Greece

Duration:
2026-2026

Financing:
DIZH Innovation program, Structure Call

Discipline:
Design