Performance Anxiety and Performing Under Pressure in Esports

Performance anxiety in competitive gaming represents a multifaceted psychological phenomenon that intersects technological mediation, cognitive processes, and high-stakes competitive environments. Unlike general stress responses to external pressures, performance anxiety specifically manifests as worry, self-focus, and cognitive interference that directly impairs task execution during competitive performance, leading to the phenomenon known as “choking under pressure”. This chapter provides a comprehensive examination of performance anxiety in competitive digital gaming, exploring theoretical frameworks including the Yerkes-Dodson Law, Cognitive Interference Theory, Attentional Control Theory, Self-Efficacy Theory, and neuropsychological perspectives on stress and performance. We analyze how esports shares core psychological dynamics with traditional sports, including public performance pressure and team-based coordination demands, whilst also presenting unique challenges such as career development difficulties due to limited structured pathways, technological mediation of performance, instantaneous performance metrics and feedback, massive digital spectatorship with real-time interaction, online toxicity and harassment, and cultural pressures within an evolving industry. The chapter examines how these factors manifest differently across esports genres, from first-person shooters to multiplayer online battle arenas and real-time strategy games. We identify critical gaps in current research and propose future directions for developing esports-specific models of performance anxiety that account for the distinctive psychological landscape of competitive gaming.