Exploring esport players’ motivation, experiences, and well-being

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to explore esports fans’ motivation, experiences and well-being. Guided by the serious leisure perspective and self-determination theory, this study focused on the community of Super Smash Brothers (SSB). This study adopted a qualitative approach and interviewed 13 members with different types of involvement with the community. The results showed that participants’ continuous involvement with the activity is motivated by pursuing personal and social benefits as well as their serious pursuit of esport and their identity as an SSB community member. The esports experiences also improved their well-being through enhancing their social well-being, improving their quality of life and satisfying their needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Lastly, the finding showed that despite the digital nature of esports, the onset of the pandemic has negatively impacted player experiences and re-emphasised the importance of attending in-person events. Based on the findings, this study discussed how to reconceptualise esports as well as highlighted the need for more future research focusing on the positive effects of esports.

KEYWORDS:

• Esports
• esports fans
• esports motivation
• esports experiences
• digital wellbeing

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kyle. J. Mechelin

Kyle Mechelin, M.S. graduates from the Department of Tourism, Event and Sport Management at Indiana University. He currently works as an research analyst with SMARInsights in Indianapolis. His research interests inovlve tourism, esports, and sport management.

Bingjie Liu-Lastres

Bingjie “Becky” Liu-Lastres, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Tourism, Event, and Sport Management at Indiana University. The goal of Liu-Lastres’s research agenda is to ensure the health and well-being of tourists, organizations, and other key stakeholders within the tourism and hospitality industries.