Arena Research Cluster - A new Global Community for Esports

Posted on 6 June 2020

The Arena Research Cluster (ARC) has been launched this week. This cluster creates an online network for researchers and industry stakeholders who share a focus on innovation in esports and sports.

Academics at the University of York have launched a global community for researchers and industry stakeholders who share a focus on innovation in esports and sports.

The Arena Research Cluster (ARC) aims to facilitate knowledge exchange and inspire collaboration and innovation amongst researchers and industry professionals.

Forming a distributed think tank for the esports community, ARC provides a point of contact for expert knowledge. ARC’s online reference library serves as a vehicle to navigate the substantial but fragmented esports research spanning numerous disciplines. Members can also subscribe to an online mailing list to receive research updates and submit their own work to the library.

ARC Co-director and Professor of Computer Science at the University of York, Anders Drachen, says, “ARC is a vehicle through which researchers and professionals can connect, share resources and start new partnerships.”

“ARC aims to promote research to the wider esports community, celebrating the ground-breaking work taking place and its relevance and application for industry,” continues Drachen.

With innovations from esports transferring into traditional sports, and vice-versa, ARC also serves the physical sports and motorsports communities.

The University of York is home to the largest university-based esports research group worldwide and is a member of the ESL-led Weavr consortium, providing world-class expertise in artificial intelligence/advanced machine learning and data analytics to help transform the way fans experience esports.

ARC connects esports research carried out across the Creative Technologies area of research strength at the University of York, including Digital Creativity Labs, Weavr, and XR Stories and IGGI. ARC was founded by Anders Drachen, Professor of Computer Science with DC Labs and Weavr, and Florian Block, Research Fellow/Lecturer in TFTI with DC Labs and R&D Director for Weavr.

Visit the Arena Research Cluster website for more information.