Game On: Exploring the Potential for Soft Skill Development Through Video Games

Soft skills remain fundamental for employability and sustainable human development in an increasingly technology-driven society. These interpersonal and cognitive competencies—such as communication, adaptability, and critical thinking—represent uniquely human capabilities that current Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems cannot replicate. However, assessing and developing these skills consistently remains a challenge due to the lack of standardized evaluation frameworks. This study explores the potential of commercial video games as engaging environments for soft skills enhancement and introduces an AI-based assessment methodology to quantify such improvement. Using player data collected from the Steam platform, we designed and validated an AI model based on Gradient Boosting Regressor (GBR) to estimate participants’ soft skill progression. The model achieved high predictive performance (R² ≈ 0.9; MAE/RMSE ≈ 1), demonstrating strong alignment between gameplay behavior and soft skill improvement. The results highlight that video game-based data analysis can provide a reliable, non-intrusive alternative to traditional testing methods, reducing test-related anxiety while maintaining assessment validity. This approach supports the integration of video games into educational and professional training frameworks as a scalable and data-driven tool for soft skills development.