In just a few decades, esports have grown from basement gatherings to stadium-filling spectacle. In the middle of this development is the LERO Esports Science Research Lab (ESRL), innovating the field of ‘esports science.’ For the past decade, the lab has been researching  the minds and bodies of professional esports athletes. Adam Toth, Program Research Manager at ESRL, reflects on how the lab’s evolving approach to esports science has changed over the past ten years and what the future holds.

The ESRL was founded off the back of a growing research collaboration between LERO, at the University of Limerick, and Logitech that dates back to 2016. Expansion of the team, research equipment, and projects led to us acquiring a dedicated research space for further multidisciplinary explorations into gaming health and performance.

The team now consists of 16 individuals with expertise in areas spanning Neuroscience, Biomechanics, Psychology, Data Analytics, Design, Mechatronics, and Physiology.

One of the challenges with blending academic and industry research is striking the balance between the speed at which research is conducted and the quality of that research. Fortunately, Artificial Intelligence has reduced that challenge, letting us manage and process many of the large datasets we generate across lab projects more quickly than we ever have before.

I’m not sure if past research is outdated per se but rather, it may be reductive as to what is actually going on with esports athletes. For example, a belief was (and is still to some degree) held that gamers have exceptionally fast response times to stimuli.

However, we now know this advantage is rather more largely due to players’ ability to process large quantities of information to make optimal predictions that make it appear that they have exceptionally fast response times.

The different methods of esports science mirror the ways any elite performance endeavour can be approached. We can monitor perception, cognition, motion, physiology, nutrition etc in the same way. The relevant metrics may differ but the principles remain the same.

One notable framework we’ve adopted in the lab is a blend between (1) exploratory knowledge-generating research streams and (2) streamlined design-led research projects. With this, we can produce continual insights that help Logitech with new product decisions.

At the same time, we can continue researching important areas of gaming health and performance that require a certain breadth and depth.

Working with elite and pro players has cemented the idea that a unique skill-set must be developed to have a chance to compete at a high-level in any esport title. I have particular respect for the consistency that esports athletes can sustain high performances.

It’s not dissimilar to a sport like golf, where the average person may underestimate the difference between an avid player and a professional.

We did some very cool work identifying the underlying perceptual-motor phases of target acquisition skill in gamers. We found that we could use targeted neurostimulation to actually speed up how quickly gamers develop that important skill. That study has been cited over 100 times and is one we’re quite proud of.

I think we've only scratched the surface on esports research. Each title is like its own sport with unique perceptual, cognitive, and motor demands that require better understanding. However, a challenge that commonly exists across most esports is longevity.

Being able to extend the careers of esports athletes is an area where future research could have the greatest impact.