Can Serious Games Contribute to Developing and Sustaining 21st Century Skills?

Serious Games (SG) are innovative tools that are widely recognized as having considerable potential to foster and support active learning. This paper addresses the question of whether and how SG can contribute to the development of the so-called "21st century skills" in general education. The paper starts by characterizing the current need for 21st century skills and the identification of these core skills. Thereafter, it reports on a literature review of studies analyzing SG impact on the development of one or more 21st century skills; and finally it analyses which, among the most relevant game characteristics, are those that could facilitate 21st century skills development. This study offers a multi-folded perspective on the use of SG for supporting 21st century skills development that may be helpful for both teachers and SG designers.