AGIR: a theory-based framework to evaluate impacts of game-based interventions for sustainability transitions

Background: Game-based interventions (GBI) increasingly embed simulation games within broader transformation processes targeting sustainability challenges. However, evaluation frameworks remain predominantly session-centred and learning-oriented, offering limited insight into how in-game dynamics translate into real-world practice change. This gap is particularly critical for GBI seeking to influence behaviours, coordination mechanisms, and institutional trajectories over extended time horizons. Method: This article proposes a framework for Assessing Game-based Interventions in Real-world contexts (AGIR), a theory-based tool designed to assess multi-level change processes in GBI. Drawing on program evaluation theory, behavioural sciences, and simulation and gaming research, AGIR structures evaluation across six levels (L0–L5): from game design and in-session dynamics (L0–L1), through learning (L2) and behavioural change (L3), to practice change (L4) and transformative systemic impacts (L5). The framework explicitly models mechanisms, contextual factors, and temporal pathways linking intervention design to sustainability outcomes. Contribution: AGIR’s contribution is threefold: it reinforces theoretical foundations by explicitly connecting design choices with evaluation concepts; it provides a comprehensive reference point enabling comparison across contexts through standardised levels and hypothesised mechanisms; and it functions as a formative accompaniment tool supporting ex ante hypothesis formulation, in itinere adjustments, and ex post impact analysis. By shifting evaluation from end-point outcome measurement toward process-oriented understanding of contribution, AGIR addresses longstanding calls for rigorous yet practical frameworks adapted to complex, action-oriented interventions. Conclusion: The framework is designed for adaptability across intervention contexts while preserving theoretical coherence. Though resource-intensive, AGIR offers practitioners and researchers a structured approach to assess whether and how GBI contribute to sustainable change, fostering an evaluation culture essential for demonstrating the impact potential of simulation games.