Numerous academic studies have linked interactive narratives with improved empathy. In 2018, the University of Wisconsin-Madison found middle-schoolers who played a video game “showed greater connectivity in brain networks related to empathy.”
“If we can’t empathize with another’s difficulty or problem, the motivation for helping will not arise,” Richard Davidson, director and professor of psychology and psychiatry at UW-Madison, said of the study. “Our long-term aspiration for this work is that video games may be harnessed for good.”