Competitive gaming demands quick thinking and even quicker reactions. For many esports players, improving performance means practicing for long hours, reviewing gameplay, and doing general fitness training. While these methods help, research now shows that biofeedback training in esports can unlock improvements that traditional practice does not reach. A new study in Computers in Human Behavior found that players can learn to adjust their brain activity and eye movements to react significantly faster during gameplay. These findings highlight how neurofeedback and gaze training may offer the next generation of science-based tools for competitive gaming.
Why Science-Based Training Matters In Esports
Esports has become a global industry where milliseconds determine whether a player wins or loses. At the highest levels, athletes show unique cognitive strengths that casual gamers do not. They tend to process information faster, sustain attention longer, and use more efficient visual strategies. Yet most training programs do not directly target the biological skills that support these abilities.
The research team behind the new study wanted to bridge this gap. They reasoned that if players could learn to regulate their own brain waves or refine their visual scanning patterns, they might strengthen the cognitive circuits that support elite-level performance. This approach reflects a broader shift toward science-driven performance methods already used in traditional sports.
Experiment 1: Using EEG To Strengthen Focus
In the first experiment, researchers used EEG to measure the brain activity of experienced gamers. They focused on theta and alpha waves, which tend to rise when a person is relaxed and fall when attention increases. Players in the training group received real-time audio cues that rewarded them for lowering these waves and maintaining strong focus. A separate sham group completed the same tasks but received random audio feedback unrelated to their brain signals.
Before and after the training session, all participants completed reaction time tasks in a shooting simulator. The results were striking. The neurofeedback group reduced their median reaction time by about 30 milliseconds. The sham group showed almost no improvement. Importantly, accuracy did not decline, suggesting that players were genuinely processing targets more efficiently rather than simply clicking faster.
Experiment 2: Training The Eyes To Improve Peripheral Awareness
The second experiment explored how gaze behavior influences performance. High-level players often rely on peripheral vision to locate threats instead of shifting their eyes too frequently. For this experiment, participants received eye-tracking feedback that alerted them whenever their gaze drifted from the center of the screen. This taught players to hold a stable central focus while using the edges of their visual field to identify targets.
This method produced even stronger improvements. Players in the training group reduced their reaction time by more than 47 milliseconds while maintaining accuracy. Their visual patterns also became more precise, indicating that they learned to limit unnecessary eye movements. This efficient gaze strategy offered a measurable competitive advantage.
What These Gains Mean For Competitive Gaming
A 30 to 47 millisecond improvement may seem small, but in esports it represents a major advantage. Most competitive monitors refresh every 7 milliseconds. The training gains observed in this study translate to roughly 4 to 7 extra frames of awareness. Seeing an opponent even a few frames earlier can determine the outcome of a match.
These results show that biofeedback training in esports has the potential to improve performance in ways that traditional practice cannot. By teaching players how to control attention and gaze, neurofeedback tools may help break through performance plateaus and extend competitive careers.
What Comes Next
The researchers note that the study focused on single training sessions, so more work is needed to understand long-term effects. Future studies may explore whether combining attention and gaze training yields even larger benefits or whether these methods apply across different game genres. There is also growing interest in testing these protocols with professional teams.
As esports continues to grow, science-based training methods like neurofeedback and eye tracking may become essential tools for competitive athletes. This line of research highlights how understanding the brain and body can shape the future of digital performance.
Citations:
- Jeong I, Kaneko N, Kim D, et al. Biofeedback training can enhance esports players’ shooting performance in an aiming task: focusing on cortical activity and gaze movement. Computers in Human Behavior. 2026;175:108836. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563225002833?via%3Dihub
- Campbell M, Toth A. The cognitive demands of esports performance: A review. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01134