People have been interested in the impact of games on learning for over 1000 years (Hellerstedt & Mozelius, 2019). In recent times, children’s widespread use of digital games for entertainment has raised the question of how digital games can be used for educational purposes (Plass et al., 2015). Attention on digital game-based learning bourgeoned during the COVID-19 pandemic as it became an opportune way to support distance education and remote learning (Squire, 2021). While there is a myriad of digital games promoting activities to help improve students’ learning and development, Minecraft: Education Edition (M:EE; the education version of the popular video game Minecraft) is particularly accepted among educators with 63 million downloads between March-December 2020 (Lehane et al., 2021). Although this surge in popularity could be partially explained by the relaxation on access to the education version of the game during the pandemic (M:EE Blog, 2021), the use of M:EE in schools has been gaining traction over the past number of years as it is seen as a ‘serious’ game that can be used to support improved outcomes for a range of learners (Callaghan, 2016).

M:EE is a flexible, digital sandbox game that allows players a great degree of freedom to design and build three-dimensional ‘worlds’. The player is represented as a first-person avatar in ‘worlds’ that consist of cubic blocks. Players can create structures, mine materials, interact with other players, complete challenges, hunt for items and explore ‘worlds’. While digital games were once stigmatised as ‘edutainment’ and considered to hold no real value beyond being used as a motivational tool for learners (see Charsky, 2010), research indicates that game-based learning techniques can successfully support learning if appropriately ‘serious games’ are chosen. In their review of game-based learning for K-16 students Clark et al. (2016) found an improvement in learning when digital games were used. However, it should be acknowledged that digital games should be ‘used because they are the most appropriate design solution and contribute to the best experience for specific educational needs and learning overall (Schrier, 2018, p.5). As a flexible sandbox type game, M:EE can be easily modified by educators to fulfil this criterion.

For example, in M:EE teachers can develop bespoke ‘worlds’ encompassing a range of curricular topics such as spatial geometry (Foerster, 2017), biology, physics, chemistry (Short, 2012) and literacy (Marcon, 2013). These adaptable ‘worlds’ allow teachers to immerse their students in the desired content and provide an opportunity to make abstract concepts or complex ‘worlds’ more relevant and accessible. Furthermore, Stone et al. (2018) noted that M:EE may be an ideal way to provide neurodiverse learners with opportunities to engage in social interaction and communication. Within the game players can communicate with each other by sending texts or by talking directly using external programmes or applications. As a result, learners do not need to confront every aspect of face-to-face communication (e.g. eye contact, facial expressions, gestures) when attempting to develop social links and friendships with their peers. Many researchers also posit that M:EE can facilitate high-quality, project-based learning experiences that support the development of collaboration, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, often referred to as 21^st Century Skills (e.g. Butler et al., 2016; Karsenti & Bugman, 2018). Given the potential of M:EE as a serious game to support students’ learning and development, the aim of this systematic review is to critically evaluate the evidence behind M:EE / Minecraft in improving academic, cognitive, motivational and psychosocial outcomes in children, adolescents and young adults.

The protocol for this review was prospectively registered on the Open Science Framework (OSF). Seven databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, ERIC, Education Research Complete and Scopus) were systematically searched on November 17, 2021. Terms for Minecraft were searched. The reproducible searches for all database searches are available on the OSF. Secondary searches were conducted via Google Scholar, Open Grey and the OSF. Where possible, authors of registered trials, protocol papers and conference proceedings were contacted to identify any unpublished studies. All studies included at full-text will be forward citation chased and backwards citation chased, using Web of Science. Studies meeting the following criteria will be included: (a) randomised studies, non-randomised studies and one-group uncontrolled studies that evaluate the impact of Minecraft / Minecraft: Education Edition, (b) pretest-posttest intervention designs, (c) samples of children, adolescents and young adults (mean age ≤ 30 years) and (d) employ at least one academic, cognitive, motivational or psychosocial outcome measure. Studies will be included if M:EE / Minecraft was used in combination with other instructional / intervention methods. Studies will be excluded when: (a) they are written in a language other than English and (b) pre- and post-test data is not reported for relevant outcomes. Following de-duplication in EndNote, the title and abstracts of all studies were screened by two independent reviewers (N = 793). Where the title and abstract met the criteria (or if this was unclear), the full text article was retrieved and screened. An inter-rater reliability (Cohen’s kappa) of 0.76 was obtained for title and abstract screening. As of January 2022, full-text screening (N = 72) is currently being undertaken by two independent reviewers in Covidence (systematic review management software). Once the final studies for the synthesis have been identified, study characteristics and results will be extracted. The methodological quality of the included studies will be independently assessed by two reviewers using the Evidence Project risk of bias tool.

The role of digital technology in an educational context to meaningfully support learning has become a prominent topic in recent years (e.g. Ilomäki & Lakkala 2018). This systematic review will provide a comprehensive understanding of the current evidence base behind the popular digital game, M:EE / Minecraft. Study characteristics and outcomes (i.e., academic, cognitive, motivational and psychosocial outcomes) will be presented in tabular form and narratively described. Factors that impact the comparison of study results will be discussed (e.g. study design, construct measurement, statistical issues and sample sizes). In terms of expected outcomes, it is anticipated that this review will inform the decisions of a range of educational stakeholders (e.g. policy-makers, school leaders, teachers) regarding the use of this digital game in schools and provide some evidence-based descriptions on what the most effective (and ineffective) learning practices involving Minecraft are. This would be of particular value to practitioners. Furthermore, this analysis will identify relevant research gaps and methodological issues that will support future work in the field of digital game-based learning.

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