Esports and High Performance HCI

Competitive esports is a growing worldwide phenomenon now rivaling traditional sports, with over 450 million views and 1 billion US dollars in revenue each year. For comparison, Major League Baseball has 500 million views and $10 billion in revenue, FIFA Soccer 900 million and $1.6 billion. Despite this significant popularity, much of the world remains unaware of esports — and in particular, research on and for esports is still extremely scarce compared to esports’ impact and potential. The Esports and High Performance HCI (EHPHCI) workshop will begin addressing that research gap. In esports, athletes compete through the computer interface. Because this interface can make the difference between winning and losing, esports athletes are among the most expert computer interface users in the world, as other athletes are experts in using balls and shoes in traditional sports. The premise of this workshop is that people will apply esports technology broadly, improving performance in a wide range of human activity. The workshop will gather experts in engineering, human factors, psychology, design and the social and health sciences to discuss this deeply multidisciplinary enterprise.