From Ivory Tower to Boardroom: How ERNC 2026 Is Bridging Esports Research and Industry

For years, esports has had a noticeable gap between the people running the industry and the researchers studying it. Tournament organizers, team executives, coaches, and publishers often work around immediate commercial and competitive demands, while academic research can sometimes appear disconnected from the problems these stakeholders face every day.

This year’s Esports Research Network Conference 2026 (ERNC26), which took place from the 15th to the 17th of September, brought together the two sides. This year’s conference clearly showed that the research on esports is now beyond the discussion of whether the sport should be considered as a valid field or not. Researchers are now investigating various practical matters ranging from the health of players to technology.

Who Is Behind ERNC? Understanding the Esports Research Network

Founded on July 7, 2019, during the ESL One Cologne event, the Esports Research Network (ERN) was established by scholars from Tampere University, Jönköping University, and the University of Siegen. Created to foster cross-border academic collaboration, the network serves as an open, interdisciplinary bridge connecting international researchers with industry practitioners to study the evolving esports ecosystem.

The ERNC26 was held in collaboration with the University of Tsukuba and the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences. Through the academic environment focused on human performance and sports sciences, ERNC26 was able to ensure that esports was analyzed using the same methods applied to other sports.

Operational execution of this event was supported by GAKU Pte. Ltd., alongside involvement from industry and community partners including the KDDI Foundation, Japan Esports Union (JESU), SEGA, Elgato, KONAMI Esports Academy, World Esports, Nagoya OJA, Tsukuba Tourism Convention Association, Mouse Computer, Pocketalk, Secretlab, Agni Flare, Tsukuba City, and Ibaraki Prefecture, with The Japan Times serving as a media partner.

Serving as Chair of ERNC26 was Dr. Tsubasa Shinohara, Assistant Professor at the University of Tsukuba. Holding a PhD and Master's degree in law from the University of Lausanne and Master and Bachelor’s degree in law from Meiji University, Shinohara’s scholarly background centers on sports/esports law, international human rights law, and technology governance. His profile underscores a key trend in the space: modern esports scholarship is increasingly steered by credentialed legal and policy experts whose research directly interfaces with international regulations and institutional structures.

ERNC 2026: “Bridging Gaming Heritage and Esports Futures: Transformations, Traditions, and Tomorrow”

ERNC26 was held around the theme “Bridging Gaming Heritage and Esports Futures: Transformations, Traditions and Tomorrow” with the participation of 163 people from 30 countries and regions. In total, over 60 papers were submitted in 20 parallel sessions, accompanied by four panels and three keynote speeches.

The scale of the programme showed how broad esports research has become. Researchers, educators, legal specialists and industry professionals examined the sector through empirical research, regulatory frameworks and economic analysis.

What is important to point out is that a lot of the studies carried out were addressing pragmatic problems and were not just aimed at proving esports’ legitimacy as a competitive field. These issues included players’ health and longevity, psychological support, ethics in relation to AI, contracts, governance, and commercial sustainability.

It is important for the field that is developing its own set of norms and values right now. Research could serve as proof for choices made on the basis of experience and intuition before.

What Global Scholars Are Actually Researching: Core Pillars and Industry Relevance

Instead of scattered theoretical research, the body presented at ERNC26 was more focused on three central pillars which had direct applications for teamwork, league management, and publishing: Esports Law and Policy, Player Health and Performance Science, and Economics of the Industry.

While academic work often deals with foundational, long-term questions, its influence is immediate where it matters most: these studies frequently guide government policy decisions worldwide, directly shaping the rules, standards, and future of the entire esports sector.

1. Esports Law, Governance, and Policy

Research in this area examined the regulatory friction emerging as esports encounters formal state oversight and international labour standards:

Contractual Disparities and Labour Standards: Sophie Roman and Pierre-Xavier Chomiac de Sas delivered a comparative assessment of player contracts across France and South Korea, highlighting discrepancies in standard clauses, buyout obligations, and labour rights.

Duty of Care and State Regulation: Archit Vyas and Tarun Tarun analysed India’s 2025 gaming legislative developments, focusing on how emerging statutory obligations redefine the legal duty of care coaches and organisations owe to competing players.

2. Esports Health, Psychology, and Performance Science

Moving beyond speculative advice, scholars presented empirical health profiles to assist team managers and performance coaches in mitigating burnout and injury:

Musculoskeletal Risks Among Certified Competitors: A study by Hyo Kitamura, Takeru Onishi, and Jun Kubota surveyed certified esports athletes, finding that 61.4% reported physical discomfort or pain in at least one area—most notably the lower back, neck, shoulders, and eyes—quantifying the urgent need for structured physical therapy protocols.

Psychological Interventions and Clinical Support: Oliver Leis, Lara Wunsch, Amy Whitehead, and Laura D. Swettenham presented operational models for psychological support in pro teams, accompanied by a scoping review (alongside Jeongeun Shin, Matthew Welsh, and Benjamin Sharpe) assessing which conventional sport psychology interventions produce measurable results in high-pressure competition.

Ethical AI in High Performance: Seth Jenny evaluated global AI ethics frameworks, proposing actionable guidelines to safeguard player privacy, prevent exploitative monitoring, and protect competitive integrity as AI tools enter coaching and talent scouting.

3. Esports Industry Economics and Commercial Models

This pillar tackled monetization mechanics, media rights distribution, and the commercial conversion of gaming audiences:

Financial Translation of Media Sentiment: Huawei Sun presented data assessing advertising returns for publicly listed Chinese firms, analysing whether audience engagement and social sentiment actually translate into measurable financial upside for corporate sponsors.

Audience Monetisation in Emerging Markets: Gabriel Sikanku and Kenechukwu Okeke explored sustainable value-chain creation in selected African esports ecosystems, outlining strategies for media platforms to monetize regional audiences without relying entirely on traditional publisher subsidies.

Mega-Event Restructuring: Leandro Francisco Becka and Federico Arteca analysed the structural economic impact of multi-title mega-events, evaluating how consolidated tournament circuits alter local and regional commercial viability.

Esports Research Network Conference - Bridging Industry Practice and Academic Insight

The agenda of the conference included direct interaction between academic scholars and industry professionals. The speakers included the industry professionals like Hideki Okamura (Special Advisor to SEGA, JESU, and GAKU), Brian McCauley (gaming heritage as digital social infrastructure keynote speaker), and Michael Murray (Bandai Namco Entertainment).

There was an open discussion session where Kohei Iwata moderated discussions among speakers like Masaru Igarashi (SEGA), Dai Takai (JESU), and Naruki Umemura (KONAMI Esports Academy). This discussion focused on the conflicts and responsibilities of commercial IP holders, national federations, and educational academies.

The wide array of contributing researchers—including Amanda Cote, Shane Burrell, Maxwell Foxman, Brandon Harris, Jeffrey Fricke-Waters, Wil Fisackerly, Yaewon Jin, Cem Abanazir, Nico Besombes, Cameron Vanloo, Joanne Donoghue, Julia Hiltscher, Tom Brock, David Micallef, Finja Walsdorff, François Savard, Erika Riedl, Raphael Prifti, Carlos Gomez-Gonzalez, Cornel Nesseler, Felix Wachholz, Juan Carlos Andrade, Sarah Standridge, Kevin Mast, Wenxuan Liao, Gangli Tan, Xiaobo Ke, Promopan Changkarndee, Kyle Nolla, and Justin Bonny—demonstrated how vast the global scholarly network studying esports has become.

Why Academic Research Deserves Industry Attention: The Long-Term Impact

The importance of conferences such as ERNC26 is not limited to what happens inside the university environment. As esports becomes more structured, research can increasingly influence the systems that determine how teams, players, publishers and tournament operators function.

Laws and Policies Will Set the Ground Rules: Research into player contracts, workplace conditions and national regulations can help identify where existing esports practices may conflict with emerging legal standards. For organisations operating across multiple markets, understanding these changes is becoming increasingly important as issues such as player agreements, visas, prize money and employment rights receive greater scrutiny.

Economic Research Brings Real Financial Credibility: Esports has spent years dealing with questions around inflated audience figures and unclear commercial value. More rigorous economic research can help move the conversation towards measurable outcomes, giving sponsors and investors better information when assessing audiences, advertising returns and the wider value of esports properties.

Health and Performance Science Protects Team Investments: Player turnover and early retirement can carry high competitive and financial costs for organisations. Research into physical injuries, psychological pressure and cognitive fatigue can help teams develop more sustainable training and performance systems. The value here is not simply player welfare. A healthier player base can also support longer careers and greater competitive stability.

The central takeaway from Esports Research Network Conference 2026 is that academic research is becoming increasingly connected to the practical needs of the esports industry. The questions being studied today are not limited to the future of esports. Many of them are already shaping how the sector operates.

As esports continues to mature, universities and research networks can play a larger role in developing the evidence behind its next stage of growth, whether that means better player protections, clearer regulations, stronger commercial models or more sustainable competitive environments.

Next Stop: ERNC27 Heads to North America

Following the conclusion of ERNC26 in Tsukuba, the Esports Research Network announced its next conference, ERNC27. The conference will make its North American debut at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. ERNC27 scheduled for November 9 to 11, 2027 (with pre-conference workshops beginning on November 8). The event is organized in partnership with NC State University, the City of Raleigh, and Visit Raleigh. The move to a major U.S. collegiate and tech hub marks another step in expanding the network's global reach, bringing academic inquiry and industry collaboration directly into the North American esports ecosystem.