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The psychology of esports: A systematic literature review
Fanni Bányai
1,2
, Mark D. Griffiths
3
, Orsolya Király
1
, Zsolt Demetrovics
1
*
1
Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
2
Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
3
International Gaming Research Unit, Psychology Department, Nottingham Trent University,
Nottingham, UK
*Corresponding Author:
Zsolt Demetrovics
Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University
Izabella utca 46., Budapest, 1064, Hungary
Phone: +36 30 9761097
Fax: +36 1 461 2697
Email address: demetrovics.zsolt@ppk.elte.hu
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The psychology of esports: A systematic literature review
Abstract
Recently, the skill involved in playing and mastering video games has led to the professionalization of the activity in
the form of ‘esports’ (electronic sports). The aim of the present paper was to review the main topics of psychological
interest about esports and then to examine the similarities of esports to professional and problem gambling. As a
result of a systematic literature search, eight studies were identified that had investigated three topics: (i) the process
of becoming an esport player, (ii) the characteristics of esport players such as mental skills and motivations, and (iii)
the motivations of esport spectators. These findings draw attention to the new research field of professional video
game playing and provides some preliminary insight into the psychology of esports players. The paper also examines
the similarities between esport players and professional gamblers (and more specifically poker players). It is
suggested that future research should focus on esport players’ psychological vulnerability because some studies have
begun to investigate the difference between problematic and professional gambling and this might provide insights
into whether the playing of esports could also be potentially problematic for some players.
Keywords: Esport; Professional video gaming; Competitive video gaming; Gambling; Poker; Video games; Gaming
motivations
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Introduction
Playing video games has become one of the most popular recreational activities, not just among children and
adolescents, but also among adults too (Entertainment Software Association 2017). Video games have changed
throughout the past five decades, and have developed from early standalone games such as Space Marines (1962)
and Pong (1972) into collaborative and competitive games played via massively multiplayer online environments,
where millions of players can play simultaneously against the games’ non-player enemies or against other players.
More recently, video game playing has become professionalized and for a small minority of players has become a
career option in the world of competitive gaming (Faust et al. 2013; Griffiths 2017). This new professional type of
video gaming activity has been termed esports (electronic sports). Esport is a new area in the gaming culture, and is
starting to become one of the most essential and popular part of video game communities, especially among
adolescents and emerging adults.
Competitive video game communities started out in South Korea, and the popularity of FPS (First Person Shooter)
games, RTS (Real Time Strategy) games and MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games)
provided a base for the emerging competitions, not only in Asia, but also in Western countries and regions (Taylor
2012; Wagner 2006). Globally, there are now thousands of video game players who define themselves as
professional gamers (i.e., so-called esport players and pro-gamers). Although the FPS and the RTS genres have
retained their popularity, the new MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) games have become the most popular
genre in esports. As a recent global esport market report (Newzoo 2017) noted, the esport economy grew 41.3% (up
to $696 million) in 2017, and esport brand investment is expected to double by 2020. It is estimated that the global
esport audience has reached 385 million, and that 45% of them play esport games, 23% view esport streams, and
32% both play and view esport streams (Newzoo 2017).
There are different definitions of what esports comprise although there are some similar characteristics. Ma and his
colleagues (2013) drew attention to the fact that esport players differ from casual gamers. An esports player is a
professional gamer who plays for competition, rather than for fun and/or relaxation, and define gaming as their job.
Casual gamers play for fun and recreation, and to entertain themselves (Ma et al. 2013). Wagner (2006) provided a
detailed definition of esport as “an area of sport activities in which people develop and train mental or physical
abilities in the use of information and communication technologies” (Wagner 2006). Hemphill (2005) adds that
esports are “alternative sport realities, that is, to electronically extended athletes in digitally represented sporting
worlds” (p.199). More pragmatically, esports have been defined as “an umbrella term used to describe organized,
sanctioned video game competitions, most often in the context of video game tournaments” (Whalen 2013). In
summary, according to these definitions and descriptions, esports are alternate sports, and a special way of using
video games and engaging in gameplay (Adamus 2012).
A number of scholars have attempted to theoretically compare esport to other sports confirming the assumption that
esport is similar to other sporting activities (Adamus 2012; Taylor 2012; Wagner 2006). According to Guttman’s
(2004) and Suits’ (2007) characteristics that define an activity as sport, esport can be classed as a sport because it
includes play (i.e., voluntary, intrinsically motivated activity), the events are organized and governed by rules,
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includes competition with the outcome of a winner and a loser, and comprises skill. Esports also have a large
following via online streaming platforms such as Twitch and YouTube. Furthermore, such activities can be played via
a Local Area Network (LAN) connection between computer devices, the events are hosted by sponsors, and have
esport play-by-play commentaries, jumbotrons (i.e., large televised screens), sizeable live audiences, and large cash
prizes for the best gamers (Adamus 2012; Jenny et al. 2016; Jonasson and Thiborg 2010; Lopez-Gonzalez and
Griffiths 2016).
Taylor (2012) also highlighted in her work, that the rules of esport tournaments, systems, play, judging, and
broadcasting can be similar to traditional sports, and professional gamers can be compared to the requirements and
practice of the athletes of professional sports (i.e., training, practice, and physical and mental states of athletes).
According to Jenny and his colleagues (2016), two of Guttmann’s (2004) criteria need further elaboration before
esport being classed as a professional sport. The first criterion concerns physical performance and the extent to
which there is a skillful and strategic use of the player’s body (because not all of it is used when playing). However,
there are many sports in which only specific body parts are used when competing (e.g., darts, snooker, shooting) so
this criterion on its own would not rule out esports being classed as a true sport. The second criterion concerns
institutional stability, which means esport requires centralized rules for regulation and stabilization to be recognized
as a sport, and not just viewed as a juvenile recreation activity (Jenny et al. 2016). The different types of esport
games (e.g., first person shooters, MOBA games) with specific rules make it more difficult to achieve institutional
stability. However, global esport organizations already exist, like the International e-Sports Federation (IeSF),
supporting esport games to be recognized as professional sports, and providing institutional basis for regulation and
stabilization (International e-Sports Federation 2017). Nevertheless, it remains a future task to come to a consensus
about whether esport is a genuine sport or not.
To understand the background of the new gaming phenomenon of esport, the exploration of the motivational patterns
of the video game use is arguably the most important topic. This is particularly relevant because Griffiths (2017)
noted that when video gaming becomes an occupation and career where players make a financial living rather than
engaging in the activity as a hobby, it potentially changes the motivations of gaming. Many researchers have
examined the motivations of gamers, and even if the theoretical basis and the examined video game genres are
different, some general and common motivational patterns have been found according to various empirical studies
carried out. For instance, Vorderer and his colleagues (Vorderer 2000; Vorderer et al. 2003) found that the most
essential elements underlying gaming motivations are interactivity and competition. Interactivity is the opportunity
to communicate and cooperate with other gamers in the online environment, and competition is the mechanism by
which gamers can compare themselves to each other. Sherry and colleagues (Greenberg et al. 2010; Sherry et al.
2006) outlined similar motivational patterns among grad school and high school students who played video games,
including arousal, challenge, competition, distraction, fantasy, and social interactions. According to their findings,
motivations were different depending upon the age of the gamer. The most important motivations for younger
gamers were competition and challenge (those in the 5
th
grade), while older gamers were more motivated by
challenge, social interactions, arousal and distraction (students in the 8
th
and 11
th
grades).
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Yee (2006a, 2006b) explored the motivations of MMORPG players. Among the motivations for playing were
achievement motivations (advancement, mechanics, competition), social motivations (socializing, relationship,
teamwork), and immersion factors (discovery, role-playing, customization, escapism). The Motivation of Online
Games Questionnaire developed by Demetrovics and his colleagues (2011) examined gamer motivations in a more
general way. However, their results showed similar motivational patterns among gamers to other empirical studies
(i.e., escapism, coping, fantasy, skill development, recreation, competition, and social). One of the common findings
of these different studies is that competition is one of the most essential motivations in the playing of video games.
Thus, players who identify themselves as a professional esport player should have higher levels of competitive
motivation although other playing motivations are also likely to be different from non-professional and casual
players. Despite the popularity of esports, few empirical studies appear to have investigated the psychological profile
of professional gamers. Furthermore, there are no systematic reviews of the psychological literature to date.
Consequently, the present literature review aimed to review recent empirical research that has focused specifically on
esport (i.e., professional gaming) from a psychological perspective.
Methods
The present study aimed to collate and review all the empirical studies concerning esport from a psychological
perspective published between 2000 and 2017. Given that competitive gaming only started to occur after videogames
could be played online and against other people, the year 2000 was chosen as a start date for the search because the
playing of videogames competitively did not exist prior to this date. The data collection included all studies
published between January 2000 to July 2017. The literature search comprised the following databases: Google
Scholar, Science Direct, PubMed, and Web of Knowledge. The following keywords were used in the respective
search engines: ‘esport video gam*’; ‘professional gam*’; ‘pro gam*’; ‘competitive video gam*’; ‘esport
competitive video gam*’; ‘sport video gam*’ and ‘professional video gam*’. Each search was performed not only in
titles of the papers, but also in the abstracts (where this option was available) for the following reasons: (i) the title
words in the paper can sometimes be limited and may not specifically mention esport; and (ii) the authors could use
various synonyms or different terms that equated to the definitions of esport.
A total of 30 papers were found as a result of the systematic search. However, based on the inclusion criteria (i.e., an
empirical study containing new primary data and published in a peer reviewed journal in the English language), a
total of 22 papers were excluded because they were either non-empirical (n=11), were published in conference
proceedings or student theses (n=8), or were not specifically focused on esport (n=3). This left a total of eight
empirical studies that met the inclusion requirements (see Table 1).
