Scientists are genuinely divided on this question.

What's still open

What the evidence found 3 findings
Based on 9 sources:
The Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggression peer-reviewed View
Metaanalysis of the relationship between violent video game play peer-reviewed View
Violent video game effects on aggression, empathy, and prosocial behavior peer-reviewed View
Journal of Pediatrics peer-reviewed View
Journal of Pediatrics peer-reviewed View
Journal of Pediatrics peer-reviewed View
Overstated evidence for short-term effects of violent games on affect peer-reviewed View
Psychological Bulletin peer-reviewed View
Anderson et al. 2010 peer-reviewed View
Based on 6 sources:
PMC (PubMed Central) peer-reviewed View
The Washington Post news View
Japan Times news View
PMC (PubMed Central) peer-reviewed View
International Journal of Education, Social Studies, and Support Services peer-reviewed View
The Science Survey news View
Based on 10 sources:
ResearchGate publication on aggression laboratory validity peer-reviewed View
Academia.edu research paper on laboratory aggression limitations peer-reviewed View
PMC article on laboratory aggression research power analysis peer-reviewed View
Conceptual Review of Lab-Based Aggression Paradigms institutional View
External validity of 'trivial' experiments: The case of laboratory aggression peer-reviewed View
The Aggressive Behavior Risk Assessment- Adolescent institutional View
PMC - NIH peer-reviewed View
ResearchGate peer-reviewed View
University at Buffalo Social Development Lab institutional View
PMC peer-reviewed View
What research hasn't answered 2 gaps
PMC (PubMed Central) peer-reviewed View
The Washington Post news View
Japan Times news View
PMC (PubMed Central) peer-reviewed View
International Journal of Education, Social Studies, and Support Services peer-reviewed View
The Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggression peer-reviewed View
Metaanalysis of the relationship between violent video game play peer-reviewed View
Violent video game effects on aggression, empathy, and prosocial behavior peer-reviewed View
Journal of Pediatrics peer-reviewed View
Journal of Pediatrics peer-reviewed View
Sources 18 findings
argumentation Unknown
argumentation Unknown
argumentation Unknown
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
Anderson argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
2010 Ferguson argumentation
2017 Hilgard argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
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Generated by reaso.ai's editorial pipeline: claim restated, scientific consensus classified via 3-run majority vote, 18 findings enriched with attribution and study type, narrative written in neutral voice. No individual researcher has signed off on this specific analysis — see methodology for how the pipeline works. Built with Claude Sonnet by Anthropic. Updated April 16, 2026. How we do this →

Written by AI. Sources are linked for verification.