dr. L.A.W.J. (Lars) de Wildt

Assistant Professor in Media & Cultural Industries

Telephone:

E-mail:

lars.de.wildt rug.nl

Research interests

Lars de Wildt studies how media cultures and industries shape contemporary worldviews.

His NWO-funded Veni project "Reorienting Global Gaming" (2025–2029) studies how Western games adapt to Chinese worldviews; and his first book, The Pop Theology of Videogames: Producing and Playing with Religion (2023, Open Access) studied how Western game developers sold religion to secular audiences. Lars was previously part (2021-2024) of the AHRC-funded project "Everything Is Connected: Conspiracy Theories in the Age of the Internet." He has been a (visiting) researcher at the universities of Leuven, Heidelberg, Montréal, Deakin, Tampere, Jyväskylä, Bremen and Nottingham-Ningbo China.

For more, see larsdewildt.eu or Google Scholar.

Publications

The Pop Theology of Videogames: Producing and Playing with Religion

de Wildt, L., 19-Apr-2023, Amsterdam University Press. 138 p. (Games and Play in Contemporary Culture and Society)

Research output: Book/Report › Book › Academic › peer-review

Grieving World of Warcraft’s Chinese Server Shutdown

Xu, H. & de Wildt, L., 29-May-2026, In: Global Media and China. 11, 2, p. 157-176 20 p.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

A Genealogy of Holy Weapons: Dungeons & Dragons and the Weaponification of Religion in (Video) games

de Wildt, L., Van den Heede, P., van Liere, L. (Editor) & Meinema, E. (Editor), 21-Apr-2026, The Meaning of Weapons: Material and Discursive Negotiations in Culture and Religion. van Liere, L. & Meinema, E. (eds.). Routledge, p. 97-119

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Academic › peer-review

All the World’s a Stage: The Ironic Worlding of "Birds Aren’t Real"

de Wildt, L., 20-Feb-2026, Playing Politics in Digital Spaces. Chouraqui, F., Gekker, A., Ieven, B., Ince, S., Korsten, F.-W., Lammes, S. & Polak, S. (eds.). Routledge, p. 174-188 15 p.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Academic › peer-review

Cultural Hegemony in Videogames (and the rise of China)

de Wildt, L., Jun-2026, ZeMKI Working Papers, p. 1-26, 26 p. (ZeMKI Working Paper; no. 61).

Research output: Working paper › Academic

Cultural Hegemony in Videogames (and the rise of China)

de Wildt, L., 28-Apr-2026, (Accepted/In press) In: Eludamos: Journal for Computer Game Culture. 17, 2

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

The Bible Goes ‘Pop’: How Religion Is Deeply Mediatized Amongst Flemish Youngsters

de Wildt, L., Nijssen, L., Devogelaere, C., Aupers, S., Bieringer, R. & Pollefeyt, D., 1-Jul-2026, In: Religions. 17, 7, 17 p., 791.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

“We, the Conspiracy Theorists.” How People Do Symbolic Boundary Work in the “Great Reset” Debates Across Social Media Platforms

Grusauskaite, K., De Bondt, M., de Wildt, L. & Aupers, S., 19-May-2026, (E-pub ahead of print) In: New media & society.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Hidden Monsters: Conspiracy Aesthetics in Video Games

de Wildt, L., 14-Jan-2025, Monstrosity in Games and Play: A Multidisciplinary Examination of the Monstrous in Contemporary Cultures. Stang, S., Meriläinen, M., Blom, J. & Hassan, L. (eds.). Amsterdam University Press, p. 163-181 19 p. (Games and Play).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Academic › peer-review