Exploratory Research into Esports

Background

At Active, I conducted the first exploratory research inquiry completely driven through my own personal initiative. I commenced this project during the winter months, which is a slower period so this work would not impede necessary studies for the product teams.

Objective

The purpose of the study was to gain an understanding of how esport players improve performance through training with other players and coaches.

Active has several products that facilitate private or athletic camps, league management software, and search tools for finding activities. Managing esport programs could potentially benefit players depending on how they find and interact with other esport players and groups.

Participants

This research study was based on qualitative interviews conducted with 9 individuals that play fighting games, MOBA (such as League of Legends or Dota), and first-person shooters. One caveat to this research sample is that four of the participants belonged to a local fighting game club based in Dallas, Texas.

Researching and learning more about fighting games was beneficial since it’s a niche genre, and has more limitations affect the growth of players. Fighting games typically have smaller audiences and most titles have poor online support, making local communities more important for improving at the game.

Resolution

The interviews identified two primary personas of esport players: social and competitive. Both groups have distinct goals, traits, and reasons for continuing to play esports.

The social persona primarily plays esports as a way to spend time with friends. They tend to be more creative in how they play or approach the game. Social groups help players practice more consistently and they often watch pro matches to learn new techniques or ideas for experimentation.

The competitive persona cares more about challenging themselves and obtaining mastery of their abilities. These players enjoy overcoming difficulties and tend to challenge themselves through establishing goals, which may include playing in tournaments.

This study focused on how social groups (both online and offline) impacted skill development. Social groups encouraged better communication for team sports, and consistent practice, which helped players counteract feelings of burnout or stagnation of their perceived abilities.

From the interviews, I identified four stages of players’ skill development: Novice, Intermediate, Expert, and Competitive. I also found specific traits that tended to result in failure and success for players. Failure often came from not consulting other players or online resources for assistance. These players also tended to have poor communication skills and did not fully understand improvements required for success. These players were also much worse at goal setting than more successful players.

Success was highly correlated to practicing different mechanics and developing specific skills. Successful players had clear goals that they wanted to achieve and they leveraged social groups to help identify mistakes and targeted areas for improvement.

Recommendations

The findings of this study could benefit multiple Active products. Since esports are a new and fast-growing market, it is difficult for players to find social groups to practice with that would develop skills and expertise. It is also difficult for players to find mentors or experts for more guided instruction. Most of the current esport leagues are professional or comprised of university students, which excludes many potential players from creating teams and challenging themselves in leagues by competing with other local or online communities.

This was an interesting study to conclude before the COVID-19 outbreak because it focused on physical interactions. For these groups, encouraging other players and holding them accountable for their improvements was a key ingredient. I regret not advocating more for outreach into this market, since Active was in a strong position to address the identified pain points for players, especially as people's social lives and time spent outdoors declined rapidly due to the pandemic.