Here are some examples of research where the focus included serious games.
Journal of Educational Psychology
Wouters, P., van Nimwegen, C., van Oostendorp, H., & van der Spek, E. D. (2013). A meta-analysis of the cognitive and motivational effects of serious games. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(2), 249–265. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031311
Computers in Human Behavior
Hamari, J., Shernoff, D. J., Rowe, E., Coller, B., Asbell-Clarke, J., & Edwards, T. (2016). Challenging games help students learn: An empirical study on engagement, flow and immersion in game-based learning. Computers in Human Behavior, 54, 170–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.07.045
British Journal of Educational Technology
Arnab, S., Lim, T., Carvalho, M. B., Bellotti, F., De Freitas, S., Louchart, S., Suttie, N., Berta, R., & De Gloria, A. (2015). Mapping learning and game mechanics for serious games analysis. British Journal of Educational Technology, 46(2), 391–411. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12113
Frontiers in Psychiatry
Fleming, T. M., Bavin, L., Stasiak, K., Hermansson-Webb, E., Merry, S. N., Cheek, C., Lucassen, M., Lau, H. M., Pollmuller, B., & Hetrick, S. (2017). Serious games and gamification for mental health: Current status and promising directions. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2016.00215
Advanced Engineering Informatics
Rüppel, U., & Schatz, K. (2011). Designing a BIM-based serious game for fire safety evacuation simulations. Advanced Engineering Informatics, 25(4), 600–611. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aei.2011.08.001
Transportation Research Part B: Methodological
Adler, N., Pels, E., & Nash, C. (2010). High-speed rail and air transport competition: Game engineering as tool for cost-benefit analysis. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 44(7), 812–833. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trb.2010.01.001
While there is a great of research that focuses on serious games and gamification, this is just a sampling of the types of research in various disciplines which is available.
