Gaming Habits in Esports: An Exploratory Approach AmongUniversity Student Gamers in Europe

Abstract

The field of esports has been studied from different multidisciplinary perspectives , making it an emerging field with plenty of room for progress. However, it still has underdeveloped areas, such as university esports. The purpose of this study was to analyze student gamers enrolled on higher education courses in Portugal and identify their sociodemographic profile and gaming habits, as well as to assess their interest in university esports. Methodologically, we followed a quantitative-descriptive approach; data were collected between April and June 2024 using an online questionnaire and then analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. The sample consisted of 1073 student gamers with regular gaming habits enrolled at 30 public institutions in 2023/2024. Our results show a high level of interest in university esports (n = 579, 54.0%), and the greater the involvement in gaming, the greater the interest. The male gender continues to prevail in this context (n = 770, 71.8%), and the majority play daily (n = 515, 48.0%), between 6 and 10 h a week (n = 322, 30.0%), although there are differences in the various indicators between genders. We identified the most played videogame categories (n = 8) and those that they intend to play (n = 15) in university esports. In conclusion, university esports offer a wide range of options and are played in a context favorable to gaming interest (young adult students), with enormous growth and expression within the esports phenomenon.