Neuromarketing and the gaming consumer: a systematic review of attention, emotion, and memory in player engagement and retention

Abstract

The global video game industry has grown faster than other cultural sectors, intensifying competition for player attention, engagement, and retention. Firms increasingly combine digital marketing with neuromarketing—methods from cognitive neuroscience measuring attention, emotion, and memory to understand the implicit processes behind consumer decisions. However, evidence on how these approaches shape gaming retention, and how their effects can be validly measured, remains fragmented. The review offers an integrative framework for studying the gaming consumer and sets priorities for ecologically valid, ethically governed research.