New academic study finds PowerWash Simulator is officially good for you

72 percent of players reported an "uplift in mood" whilst playing PowerWash Simulator.

That's according to the results of a first-of-its-kind study commissioned in 2022, which analysed data from over 8500 players across almost 40 countries, including the US and the UK.

According to Oxford University's Internet Institute and PowerWash Simulator developer FuturLab, which collaborated on the study, players "consistently reported a higher mood after the first fifteen minutes of the play session compared to the start of each session".

Across the 162,325 "in-game mood reports" from players, the average player reported a more positive mood during play than at the start of each session.

This kind of change is "comparable with changes seen in other leisure activities such as reading, shopping, or listening to music".

"At present, short-term changes in video game players' moods are poorly understood. Gameplay research frequently relies on artificial stimuli, with games created or modified by academic researchers, typically played in a lab environment rather than a natural context. Instead, we wanted to know how real play in natural contexts might predict player mood on short timescales," said lead author, assistant professor Matti Vuorre, Tilburg University and Research Associate, Oxford Internet Institute.

PowerWash Simulator's Shrek SLC now has a release date: 10th October.

Developer FuturLab announced the swamp-squirting DLC last month, but at the time, we were only given a broad release in autumn. Now we have a firm release date across Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, as well as details of which fairytale environments we'll soon be spraying down.