Agosto 2026

Special Issue of Victoriographies: A Journal of the Long Nineteenth Century Guest Edited by Paolo D’Indinosante and Federica Perazzini Games play a significant role in shaping contemporary understandings of the Victorian age across different generations. Yet, although research on Victorian-inspired games has expanded considerably in recent years (see, e.g., Napolitano 2019; Folléa 2020; Crofts 2023; Esser 2024; Beyvers 2025; Beyvers and Faber 2025; Bispo 2026; D’Indinosante 2026), gaming remains peripheral to the field of neo-Victorian studies, which is still predominantly concerned with literature, cinema, and television. This special issue of Victoriographies seeks to redress the imbalance and advance the field by bringing it into sustained dialogue with game studies through a collection of essays on neo-Victorian game and game-related adaptations, appropriations, and transmedia storytelling (Flanagan 2017; Stobbart 2018; Elleström 2019; Fehrle and Schäfke-Zell 2019; Sanders 2026). Building on recent scholarly work exploring the relationship between gaming and the long nineteenth century, including Cameron and Young (2024; 2025) and Pereira (2025), this special issue will constitute the first collective effort to adopt the neo-Victorian as its primary theoretical and analytical lens for examining the diverse intersections and interactions between contemporary global gaming and the Victorian past. It will also be the first collection of essays on Victorian-related games to foreground adaptations, appropriations, and transmedia storytelling as its primary objects of investigation. We invite scholarly contributions that explore and map the relatively uncharted region at the intersection of neo-Victorian studies and game studies. We particularly encourage contributions that examine forms underrepresented in the area of inquiry at the intersection of neo-Victorian and game studies, including analogue games, indie digital games, and (graphic) novelisations of popular Victorian-inspired video games, such as Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate (Ubisoft Quebec 2015) and the Dishonored games (Arkane Studios 2012; Arkane Lyon 2016; 2017). We are especially interested in contributions that offer new theoretical and methodological perspectives for analysing and teaching a wider range of previously overlooked neo-Victorian games and related cultural artefacts. We also welcome contributions that foster productive exchanges with recent developments in the field of game studies, particularly feminist, historical, postcolonial, queer, trans, and ecocritical game studies (Shaw 2014; Chapman 2016; Mukherjee 2017; Ruberg and Shaw 2017; Ruberg 2022; op de Beke et al. 2024). Topics may include, but are not limited to: Submission Guidelines We invite abstracts of approximately 300 words, accompanied by a list of works cited and a brief biographical sketch (about 100 words). Abstracts should be submitted as a PDF file to paolo.dindinosante@uniroma1.it by 4th September 2026. Authors will be notified of the outcome of the selection process by 21st September 2026. Accepted authors will then be invited to submit full articles by 13th December 2026, which should be 7,000–8,000 words (including endnotes) and prepared according to the journal’s style guide. Accepted authors will also be asked to read the journal’s submission guidelines carefully and to provide an abstract of about 200 words, 5–7 keywords (preferably not all words used in the title) for online searches, and a brief biographical sketch (about 50–100 words). If you have any questions, please write to paolo.dindinosante@uniroma1.it. Timeline For further info, check here