Born to Run, Programmed to Play: Mapping the Extended Reality Exergames Landscape

Abstract

Many people struggle to exercise regularly, raising the risk of serious health-related issues. Extended reality (XR) exergames address these hurdles by combining physical exercises with enjoyable, immersive gameplay. While a growing body of research explores XR exergames, no previous review has structured this rapidly expanding research landscape. We conducted a scoping review of the current state of XR exergame research to (i) provide a structured overview, (ii) highlight trends, and (iii) uncover knowledge gaps. After identifying 1318 papers in human-computer interaction and medical databases, we ultimately included 186 papers in our analysis. We provide a quantitative and qualitative summary of XR exergame research, showing current trends and potential future considerations. Finally, we provide a taxonomy of XR exergames to help future design and methodological investigation and reporting.

References in corpus (6)

• Extended Reality (XR) Remote Research: a Survey of Drawbacks and Opportunities
• Effect of Gameplay Uncertainty, Display Type, and Age on Virtual Reality Exergames
• Never Skip Leg Day Again: Training the Lower Body with Vertical Jumps in a Virtual Reality Exergame
• Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment in Virtual Reality Exergames through Experience-driven Procedural Content Generation
• How Much Should I Pay? An Empirical Analysis on Monetary Prize in TopCoder
• VirusBoxing: A HIIT-based VR boxing game

Cited by in corpus (4)

• AlphaPIG: The Nicest Way to Prolong Interactive Gestures in Extended Reality
• The Jade Gateway to Exergaming: How Socio-Cultural Factors Shape Exergaming Among East Asian Older Adults
• From Solo to Social: Exploring the Dynamics of Player Cooperation in a Co-located Cooperative Exergame
• Game-Based and Gamified Robotics Education: A Comparative Systematic Review and Design Guidelines