Usva Friman

I am a game and esports culture researcher currently working as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Game Research Lab and the Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies at Tampere University, Finland.

I defended my doctoral dissertation (monograph) Gender and game cultural agency in the post-gamer era: Finnish women players’ gaming practices, game cultural participation, and rejected gamer identity for the University of Turku in June 2022. I have also published 14 peer-reviewed research articles in edited collections from Palgrave Macmillan and Routledge and in journals such as Games and Culture and Journal of Electronic Gaming and Esports. I am the first editor of the peer-reviewed research collection Pelit kulttuurina (Games as culture) published by Vastapaino in 2022.

I serve as the President of The Finnish Society for Game Research (the Finnish DiGRA chapter) and a diversity board member for the Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA).

My research is focused on topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as cultural participation and agency in digital gaming and esports. I explore these topics as experienced by people participating in these cultures – especially as women and representatives of other marginalised participant groups – but also from structural and organisational perspectives. My aim is to create new, research-based knowledge and practices in close collaboration with stakeholders in the field to initiate positive change.

My current research work is focused on two projects:

1. Nordic Esports and
2. PEGASUS: Promoting equity and game cultural sustainability in Finland 

Game Studies; Digital Culture

1. Friman, U. (2022). Gender and game cultural agency in the post-gamer era: Finnish women players’ gaming practices, game cultural participation, and rejected gamer identity. Doctoral dissertation (monograph). University of Turku. Open access: https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2024031210910 

2. Friman, U., Ruotsalainen, M., & Ståhl, M. (2023). Communicating and practicing diversity, equity, and inclusion in Finnish esports organizations: Challenges and opportunities. Journal of Electronic Gaming and Esports, 1(1). Open access: https://doi.org/10.1123/jege.2022-0040 

3. Friman, U. & Ruotsalainen, M. (2022). Gender and toxic meritocracy in competitive Overwatch: Case “Ellie”. In M. Ruotsalainen, M. Törhönen, & V. Karhulahti (Eds.), Modes of esports engagement in Overwatch (pp. 135–154). Palgrave Macmillan. Open access: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-82767-0_8 

4. Turtiainen, R., Friman, U. & Ruotsalainen, M. (2020). “Not only for a celebration of competitive Overwatch, but also for national pride”: Sportificating the Overwatch World Cup 2016. Games and Culture, 15(4), 351–371. https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412018795791 Open access: https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202106145861 

5. Friman, U., Arjoranta, J., Kinnunen, J., Heljakka, K., & Stenros, J. (2022, Eds.). Pelit kulttuurina (Games as culture). Vastapaino. Open access: https://usvafriman.net/pelit-kulttuurina-kirjan-luvut-avoimesti-saatavilla