Grant Tavinor. The Art of Videogames. 2009.

• Really toughout take on videogames from the perspective of the philosophy of art (with the focus on the philosophy of fiction) and ethics

Elias, Garfield and Gutschera Characteristics of games. 2012.

• Really detailed and nuanced look at the game systems using concepts from e.g., game theory to cover complexities of modern games

I'd add a classic one:

• Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World (Jane McGonigal)

Bruno Castro right!

Grant Tavinor. The Art of Videogames. 2009.

• Really toughout take on videogames from the perspective of the philosophy of art (with the focus on the philosophy of fiction) and ethics

Elias, Garfield and Gutschera Characteristics of games. 2012.

• Really detailed and nuanced look at the game systems using concepts from e.g., game theory to cover complexities of modern games

I cited these books and found them important for game studies:

Björk, S., & Holopainen, H. (2005). Patterns in Game Design. Boston, MA: Charles River Media.

Bogost, I. (2007). Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Calleja, G. (2011). In-Game: From Immersion to Incorporation. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Lankoski, P., & Björk, S. (Eds.). (2015). Game Research Methods: An Overview. Halifax, Canada: ETC Press.

Mäyrä[w1] , F. (2008). An Introduction to Game Studies: Games in Culture. London, England: Sage Publications.

I also agree about you have chosen,

Rules of Play (Salen & Zimmerman). A modern classic.

Half-real (Juul). Brought a lot of debate to the field and to the classic questions of what a game is/where are does a game end, etc.

Persuasive Games (Bogost).12 years old and still in good shape.

Above them, my favorite is Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games (Fullerton) . introduces a detailed methodology for small studios to find creative game mechanics.

I would consider adding Racing the Beam by Montfort and Bogost because of its focus on the technical aspects of games that are often overlooked. It also illustrates the importance of considering sociocultural contexts of development in in-depth analyses.

My two cents:

Suits, B. (1978). The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia (Vol. xii). Toronto: Toronto University Press.

Dovey, J., & Kennedy, H. W. (2006). Game cultures: Computer games as new media (Issues in cultural and media studies). London: Open University Press.

Egenfeldt-Nielsen, S. H. (2016). Understanding video games: The essential introduction (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Bogost, I. (2007). Persuasive games. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Caillois, R. (1961). Man, play, and games. New York, NY: Free Press of Glencoe.

Huizinga, J. (1955). Homo Ludens: A study of the play-element in culture. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.

Atkins, B. (2003). More than a game: the computer game as a fictional form. Manchester: Manchester University Press.