Should the developer or the game title come first?

In MLA, the title. The MLA Style Center explains that the developer's name goes in the publisher slot alongside the publisher's name, because a game's box and credits often do not make clear who did what. In APA, which treats a game as software, the publisher goes in the author position.

Do I need the version or patch number?

Only when it matters. MLA's guidance is that including it is not required, but that you should include it when the patch is part of your discussion — for example when an update added content or changed behaviour. Where to find it varies: a title screen, a console's file information screen, or the store page.

Why does the platform matter?

Because the same game differs across platforms, and games get ported later. MLA puts the platform in the final supplemental element for exactly this reason: "Nintendo Switch game", "Microsoft Windows game".

How do I cite something that happens inside a game?

Describe it precisely in your text — the level, chapter, quest or timestamp — and cite the game. Games have no page numbers and no universally stable locators, so the description carries the weight.

Do I cite the game engine?

No. MLA's guidance is explicit: the software a work is built with or runs on does not go in the works-cited entry. If the engine matters to your argument, discuss it in the text or a note.

How to Cite a Video Game

Video games are cited more often than the style manuals suggest, and the guidance is uneven: MLA has published detailed instructions for every element, while APA folds games into its computer-software form. What both agree on is that a game reference has to identify a specific release — because a game changes between platforms and between patches in ways a book does not change between printings.

The worked example is real and verified on the official store page on 22 September 2026: Stardew Valley, developed and published by ConcernedApe, released 26 February 2016, Steam app 413150.

What to Collect

The full title, with subtitle
The developer and the publisher (they are often different companies)
The director, if one is credited
The release year
The platform you played on
The version or patch number, if it is relevant

Quick Reference by Major Style

MLA (9th Edition)

MLA's guidance is the most complete published account of this source type, and the examples below are MLA's own.

Title of Game. Directed by First Last, Developer / Publisher, Year. Platform game.

Firmament. Cyan, 2023. Microsoft Windows game.

Luigi's Mansion 3. Directed by Bryce Holliday, Next Level Games / Nintendo, 2019. Nintendo Switch game.

Alan Wake II. Directed by Sam Lake and Kyle Rowley, version 1.000.014, Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games, 2023. Sony PlayStation 5 game.

Applying the same pattern to the verified example, where the developer and publisher are the same company, so only one name is needed:

Stardew Valley. ConcernedApe, 2016. Microsoft Windows game.

In-text: (Stardew Valley)

Four rules from the MLA Style Center are worth keeping in front of you: give the full title and subtitle; put the director in the contributor slot, and a voice or motion-capture actor there too if you are discussing the performance; separate developer and publisher with a slash, or give one name when they are the same company; and never list the game engine.

APA (7th Edition)

APA has no game-specific form; a game is software. The template below is the one the University of Queensland Library publishes in its APA 7th guide for software, with the bracketed description changed to match what you played.

Publisher or Developer. (Year). Title of game (Version x.x) [Video game]. Publisher. URL

ConcernedApe. (2016). Stardew Valley [Video game]. ConcernedApe. https://store.steampowered.com/app/413150/Stardew_Valley/

In-text: (ConcernedApe, 2016)

The same guide's rule about when a reference is needed applies here too: software that is common in your field or audience can simply be named with its version in the text, while software central to your argument gets a full entry. A game you are analysing is always central to your argument, so it always gets an entry.

Chicago (18th Edition)

The Chicago Manual of Style is subscription-only and neither its free Citation Quick Guide nor the Chicago library guides consulted for this page publishes a video-game entry. Treat the game as an audiovisual work and follow the pattern your department names; the elements it will need are title, developer and publisher, year, platform, and version if relevant. Do not take a Chicago game format from a citation generator without checking it against the manual.

Harvard (Cite Them Right)

The Cite Them Right-based guides followed here do not publish a video-game entry either. The University of Sheffield's Harvard guide does publish a form for an app, which is the closest published relative:

Developer/Producer (Year of release/update) Title of app (Version) [Mobile app]. Available at: app store name (Downloaded: date).

Adapting that shape to a game played on a desktop platform:

ConcernedApe (2016) Stardew Valley [Video game]. Available at: Steam (Downloaded: 22 September 2026).

Because this is an adaptation and not a published Cite Them Right example, check your department's guide first; if it has a games entry, use that.

Missing Elements

No director credited. MLA's guidance is to omit the contributor element rather than invent one. Many games credit no director.

No release year on the box. Use the store page or the in-game credits. Steam, the console stores and the developer's own site all carry a release date.

A game that is still in early access. Say so in your text and give the version you played; early access builds change weekly.

A game no longer for sale. Cite it as you played it, and record the platform and version. For anything you cannot verify, say what you could not confirm rather than filling the gap.

Common Mistakes

Beginning an MLA entry with the developer's name instead of the title
Naming only the publisher when developer and publisher are different companies
Leaving out the platform, so the reader cannot tell which release you mean
Citing a wiki, a review or a video walkthrough as though it were the game
Giving a patch version that does not exist on the platform you played
Listing the game engine in the entry
Citing "Steam" as the publisher: Steam is the storefront, not the publisher

Sources for These Formats

MLA Style Center, "How do I cite a video game?", published 7 February 2024, style.mla.org
University of Queensland Library, "APA 7th referencing style: Software and mobile apps"
University of Sheffield Library, "Harvard referencing" (based on Cite Them Right), App entry; checked for a video-game entry and found not to have one
The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th ed. (subscription), and its free Citation Quick Guide, checked for a video-game entry and found not to have one
Steam store record for Stardew Valley (app 413150), developer and publisher ConcernedApe, released 26 February 2016

Full style rules: MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard.

Wonders searches OpenAlex and Semantic Scholar, where game studies scholarship is indexed, so the literature about a game is easier to find than a citation format for the game itself.