Abstract
Fire evacuation training is essential for reducing casualties during building emergencies, yet conventional approaches such as drills and instructional materials are often limited in realism, scalability, and their ability to capture human behavior. Serious games (SGs), particularly those using immersive virtual environments, have emerged as promising alternatives for interactive fire safety training. This study systematically reviews 31 peer-reviewed SG-based fire evacuation training studies identified through Scopus and Google Scholar, with searches completed on April 18, 2026. Eligible studies addressed game-based approaches to fire or general building evacuation and reported primary research involving system development, implementation, application, or evaluation. The studies were analyzed across five dimensions: simulation and environment design, interaction and game mechanics, behavioral representation, performance evaluation, and social and collaborative aspects. The review identifies three recurring limitations: simplified representations of occupant decision-making, fragmented evaluation approaches, and limited integration of social dynamics and adaptive training. Given the heterogeneity of study designs and outcomes, the overall effectiveness of SG-based fire evacuation training cannot yet be determined consistently. Based on these findings, the study proposes a roadmap for next-generation SG-based fire evacuation training systems and introduces the Behavior-Aware, Adaptive, and Socially Responsive (BAS) framework. The proposed roadmap and framework provide a conceptual foundation for designing more realistic, personalized, and behavior-aware fire evacuation training systems by integrating behavioral modeling, social interactions, multidimensional assessment, and AI-enabled adaptive learning. The review is limited by English-language inclusion, database coverage, and single-reviewer screening and coding.