Summary: A new study shows that a specially designed, child-friendly action video game can help develop children’s reading skills by boosting attention and other executive functions involved in literacy.
Source: University of Geneva
Decoding letters into sounds is essential when learning to read, but it is not sufficient on its own.
“Reading draws on several other critical skills we do not always consider, such as how we move our eyes across the page and how we use working memory to connect words into meaningful sentences,” explains Daphné Bavelier, professor in the Psychology Section of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences (FPSE) at the University of Geneva. These additional skills—especially visual processing, attention deployment, working memory and cognitive flexibility—can be strengthened by playing action video games, says Angela Pasqualotto, first author of the study and doctoral researcher at the Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento.
A child-friendly action video game designed to support reading
Based on these insights, the research team developed a bespoke video game that blends action-game dynamics with short mini-games targeting executive functions such as working memory, inhibition and cognitive flexibility—abilities that are actively used when reading. The game places the child in an imaginative world alongside a friendly flying companion called Raku. Together they complete missions to save planets and advance through levels.
The game intentionally preserves the fast-paced, attention-demanding elements of action titles but removes violent content so it is appropriate for young children. For example, Raku navigates meteor showers, dodging or weakening incoming obstacles while collecting resources needed later in the adventure—gameplay mechanics that mirror the attentional and perceptual demands found in many action games.
To evaluate the approach, the researchers recruited 151 Italian schoolchildren aged 8 to 12 and randomly assigned them to two groups. One group trained with the action-style game developed by the team; the control group trained with Scratch, a coding game that emphasizes planning, reasoning and problem-solving. Both games engage executive functions, but in different ways: the action game enforces quick responses and adaptive difficulty (for example, remembering symbol sequences or responding only when Raku produces a specific sound), while Scratch centers on deliberate sequencing and logical manipulation.
Before training, the team assessed each child’s ability to read real words, non-words and paragraphs, and measured attentional control with a standardized attention test—a faculty known to be enhanced by action gaming. Children then completed supervised training at school for six weeks, two hours per week, administered and tested by clinicians from the Laboratory of Observation Diagnosis and Education (UNITN).
Lasting improvements in reading and attention
Immediately after the training period, the researchers repeated the assessments. The children who played the action-style game showed a sevenfold improvement in attentional control compared with the control group, according to Angela Pasqualotto. More importantly, the action-game group demonstrated clear improvements in reading: they read faster and with greater accuracy, while the control group showed no comparable gains. Notably, the action game required no reading during play, indicating that gains transferred from trained cognitive skills to literacy.
To test durability, the team conducted follow-up assessments at 6, 12 and 18 months after training. On each occasion, children who received the action-game intervention continued to outperform their peers, demonstrating sustained benefits. Over time, the trained children also achieved significantly better grades in Italian, suggesting a broader positive impact on classroom learning.
“These long-term effects are consistent with the idea that action-based cognitive training strengthens children’s capacity to learn how to learn,” says Daphné Bavelier.
As part of the NCCR Evolving Language initiative and in collaboration with Irene Altarelli (co-author and researcher at LaPsyDE, University of Paris), the research team plans to adapt the game into German, French and English. Reading acquisition presents different challenges across languages: Italian is highly transparent, with consistent letter–sound mappings, while French and English are more opaque, requiring learners to master many exceptions and context-dependent pronunciations. The team will therefore investigate whether the cognitive gains from action-style training generalize to languages with greater orthographic complexity.
The game and its assessment tools will also be made available for remote use at home, so the intervention can complement regular school instruction without taking time away from classroom activities.
About this neurotech research news
Author: Antoine Guenot
Source: University of Geneva
Contact: Antoine Guenot – University of Geneva
Image: The image is in the public domain
Original Research: Closed access. “Enhancing reading skills through a novel video game mixing action mechanics and cognitive training” by Daphné Bavelier et al., published in Nature Human Behavior.
Abstract
Enhancing reading skills through a novel video game mixing action mechanics and cognitive training
In modern societies, reading proficiency is essential: children who struggle with reading are at higher risk of academic difficulties and long-term disadvantages. While oral language skills are central to literacy, reading also depends on several executive functions. Given their importance, training executive functions—particularly attentional control—has been proposed as a promising path to improve reading ability.
To pursue this approach, the researchers developed a video game-based cognitive intervention combining gamified versions of clinical training exercises with action-game dynamics. The intervention targets multiple facets of executive function through short, engaging mini-games embedded in an action-oriented environment.
In a study of 151 typically reading children, the intervention produced significant improvements in reading performance as well as in attention and planning skills. The findings indicate that training attentional control and related executive functions can translate into greater reading efficiency, with benefits that persisted at a six-month follow-up.