Olli Sotamaa

Olli Sotamaa is a Professor of Game Culture Studies at Tampere University's Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences, Department of Communication Sciences. He leads the Tampere University Game Research Lab alongside Professor Frans Mäyrä and serves as team leader in the Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies.

• Specializes in game cultural phenomena: online communities, fandom, modding, data-driven game development
• Co-edited Game Production Studies (Amsterdam University Press, 2021)

His research focuses on game industry practices, data analytics impact, and player production cultures. Recent work examines game data labor, industry ethics, and digital preservation challenges.

Key trends in his 15 most recent articles include:

• Game data work and algorithmic culture (2023-2025)
• Game modding and user-generated content (2021-2022)
• Game development practices (2019-2021)
• Game preservation and heritage (2020)
• Industry sustainability and ethics (2021-2025)

Scientific awards:

• ERC-Advanced-Grant project 'Making Sense of Games (MSG)'

Labs/teams:

• Tampere University Game Research Lab
• Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies