Charting the scientific landscape of esports

Leonardo Colares Castro
Unisinos Business School, Unisinos University

Esports is a term encompassing competitive video gaming. It is surrounded by tons of viewers who tune in to watch professional gamers compete in tournaments with million-dollar prize pools. This phenomenon emerged approximately in ‘1958, with the invention of what is widely considered the first video game, Tennis for Two’ (p. 2). While its existence has lasted for more than 5 decades, it remains an unexplored theme in the academic field. The surge in interest of late has propelled esports into the academic spotlight, with researchers investigating its physiological, psychological, sociological, and commercial aspects.

As competitive gaming continues to grow in popularity and economic significance, the need for rigorous scientific understanding becomes increasingly crucial. The Science of Esports stands as one of the first attempts to bridge the gap between traditional sports science and the specific demands of esports, together with Understanding Esports: An Introduction to the Global Phenomenon (2019), Esports Insights (2022), and, perhaps in particular, Routledge Handbook of Esports (2024). It’s a rather slim volume considering the vast field it aims to study. My analysis will delve into the theoretical frameworks employed, the practical applications suggested, and the potential areas for future research that emerge.

The integration of diverse fields such as psychology, physiology, and nutrition reflects the holistic approach necessary to understand esports performance.

The book was written by four authors: Craig McNulty, Remco Polman, Matthew Watson, and Kabir Bubna. Professor McNulty is a lecturer and researcher at the Queensland University of Technology, Australia. His research areas include athlete and e-athlete exercise physiology, oxygen uptake kinetics, and physiological measures in esports. Professor Polman is the Executive Dean of the Institute of Health and Wellbeing, DVCRi, and part of the senior management team at Federation University. His area of expertise is psychological determinants of performance and well-being in athletes, with a particular focus on stress, coping, and emotions. Watson was the director of Learning & Development at the International Federation of Esports Coaches (IFoEC) and is completing his PhD in Coaching at the German Sport University in Cologne.  His background includes experience in designing and delivering esports coaching and performance programs in a range of academic and applied settings. Kabir Bubna is a research assistant with The International Federation of Esports Coaches (IFoEC). His educational background includes a BSc (Hons) and a Master’s degree in Sports, Coaching, and Physical Education. His publications include coaching and training analysis, esports athlete perspectives, and talent development. This range provides a great intersection between academia and professional fields.

The book was structured in 13 chapters, including the definition and historical background (chapter 1), physiological (chapters 3 and 4), training and coaching (chapters 2, 8, and 9), nutrition (chapter 5) and social (chapters 6, and 11) aspects of esports, gambling and cheating (chapter 12), structure and technology (chapters 7, and 10), and future considerations on the field (chapter 13).

The authors primarily focus on the physiological and psychological aspects of esports performance, mentioning the imbued social aspects of these areas. For example, in Chapter 4, Polman provides a framework for the basic psychological needs of e-athletes. This highlights that on the side of the institutions, extrinsic motivations (e.g., regulations, compliance, etc.) must be considered and be aligned to internal motivation and amotivation, also known as values. Moreover, in Chapter 8, Watson and Bubna also provide behavioral characteristics demanded from esports coaches (e.g., professional, interpersonal, and intrapersonal knowledge). These categories point to teams’ attention in hiring criteria for esports coaches. Furthermore, McNulty, in Chapter 13, also attends to future studies on the field of esports, he embraces institutional topics such as health and performance, considering in them the identification of the determinants of performance and best practices for training and competition structures, and the development of intrinsic motivation to manage stress, develop coping strategies, and enhance performance and psychological well-being.

The integration of diverse fields such as psychology, physiology, and nutrition reflects the holistic approach necessary to understand esports performance. This mirrors the trend in traditional sports science towards more integrated models of athletic performance (Glazier, 2017). However, the application of these models to esports raises interesting questions about the nature of athleticism in digital environments. One potential limitation of this approach is the risk of oversimplifying the unique aspects of esports by relying too heavily on traditional sports paradigms. For instance, the cognitive demands of esports may differ significantly from those in traditional sports, necessitating new models of mental performance and skill acquisition.

The book provides an interdisciplinary approach that also highlights the need for esports-specific theories that embrace analysis of the determinants of performance, practices for training, competition structures, social cohesion, effective communication, toxicity, safeguarding of children and vulnerable individuals, and other social and health issues. While adapting existing sports science models provides a solid starting point, the digital nature of esports and the unique social dynamics of online competition may require new theoretical frameworks. It will be interesting to explore whether existing sports science models are sufficient for esports or if new theories are needed to fully capture the nuances of this digitally competitive environment, considering that most of them are influenced by the traditional sports landscape.

The many undeniable qualities of the book under review notwithstanding, there are a few things that I would have liked to see included in the book or elaborated on.

Authors could have explored the growing body of research on the cognitive demands of esports and how they integrate the field of sports psychology (Pedraza-Ramirez et al., 2020). Also, they could have delved deeper into esports nutrition, examining the specific dietary needs of esports athletes and the impact of nutrition on cognitive function and performance during competition. I would also suggest a discussion on the psychological effects of esports participation, such as esports anxiety and burnout, and how to mitigate these issues.

In addition to that, aiming to provide a more well-rounded understanding of esports, the book would be enhanced by incorporating sociological, and cultural aspects based on recent studies. Even considering that this book considers some aspects of these areas, such as esports ecosystem description (in Chapter 1), social support in esports (Chapter 6), and grind culture (Chapter 2), the authors could have provided a complementary view on these topics. Sociologically, I miss deeper studies of the impact of esports on gamers’ identities and social lives, and esports communities’ functions, and the social capital esports participation can generate. Culturally, the book could have examined the global esports landscape and how esports vary across different regions and how cultural factors influence game design, esports viewership, and even the types of games that are popular in esports (e.g., the dominance of MOBAs in Asia compared to the popularity of FPS games in North America). Furthermore, there’s a need to discuss the rise of professional gamers as celebrities, the impact of esports on fan culture, and other types of culture already identified in the esports field, such as grind and injury culture.

Additionally, the treatment of social media’s impact on players seems cursory. Given the integral role of social media in esports culture, this area deserves more extensive research. I would have liked to see further explorations of concepts like digital identity management, online community dynamics, and the impact of public scrutiny on player performance and well-being in esports. Furthermore, the ethical considerations surrounding esports (Xu, 2023), such as game addiction, the responsibilities of game developers, and the impact of esports on youth development, represent important areas for future research. These issues have implications not just for esports but for digital culture and public health more broadly.

All in all, there are much to explore in future scholarly studies of esports; however, McNulty and colleagues have commendably prepared the ground for further research.

Copyright © Leonardo Colares Castro 2024

References

Glazier, P. S. (2017). Towards a grand unified theory of sports performance. Human Movement Science, 56, 139-156.

Pedraza-Ramirez, I., Musculus, L., Raab, M., & Laborde, S. (2020). Setting the scientific stage for esports psychology: A systematic review. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 13(1), 319-352.

Xu, Y. (2023). The evolving esports landscape: Technology empowerment, intelligent embodiment, and digital ethics. Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, 17(3), 356-368.