If scientists wish for technology firms to provide access to data on the use of digital entertainment, such as gaming (D. L. King et al. Nature 589, 198; 2021), they need to be more open with their own research as well. After decades of studies into gaming-related health, too few publications have shared their data and materials (A. van Rooij et al. J. Behav. Addict. 7, 1–9; 2018).
When the games industry opens up data to researchers, those data should be available to everyone to ensure that results are reproducible (see M. Baker Nature 533, 452–454; 2016). Collaborations based on closed contacts with industry and limited availability of data could merely lead to debates about reporting practices, rather than scientific progress. Of course, all parties must follow best practice in ethics, informed consent and privacy when they collect, analyse and distribute such data.
