Strimling, Pontus, and Seth Frey. "Emergent cultural differences in online communities’ norms of fairness." Games and Culture 15.4 (2020): 394-410.

This study explores how identical online multiplayer game environments, specifically different servers of World of Warcraft in 2006, can spontaneously develop diverse cultural norms among their communities. Despite the identical setup and significant incentives for players to deviate, communities within these game worlds converged on different social contracts regarding resource distribution. This emergent norm diversity highlights the unpredictable nature of social dynamics, underscoring a unique aspect of human sociality and presenting a challenge for game designers in managing these emergent behaviors.