Esports is a rapidly growing industry, generating interest from research disciplines including marketing, social sciences, and human-computer interaction. Despite its continued growth, there is a lack of studies surrounding the health of esports players. Previous work on the subject is limited, as research has only recently begun to explore the potential factors affecting physical and psychological wellness. Using an exploratory mixed-methods approach, a series of semi-structured interviews (n = 10) and an online survey (n = 68) were used to identify the biggest health concerns among esports players. The results demonstrate a better understanding of issues regarding physical and psychological wellness according to the players. Moving forward, we suggest the HCI community adapts mindfulness, ergonomics, and social-emotional learning as methods for supporting player’s health concerns.

Esports are rapidly growing within academia. In HCI, earlier work explored how problematic behaviors emerging from gender biases (e.g., toxicity) negatively impact female participation in esports. Here, we further explore gender biases in esports by interviewing 19 self-identified female and male professional gamers and event organizers. We inquire our interviewees about personal experiences with gender biases in esports and their perspective on how these biases impact participation, inclusivity, and career prospects. Our interviewees see gender biases in esports as a consequence of stereotypical gender roles in gaming tout-court (e.g., girls do not like violence, boys are competitive by nature). The rationale for separating male and female in esports, however, seems rooted in the need for female gamers to create role-models and grow in self-confidence. We scrutinize the considerations emerging from our interviews under a Feminist HCI lens and discuss how HCI research can help design equitable environments in esports.