30-week trial finds League of Legends boosts attention, memory

Researchers at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China ran a 30-week study tracking 68 adults with minimal prior gaming experience to compare cognitive effects from two games.

Participants were assigned to play either League of Legends or the strategy game Legends of the Three Kingdoms over the study period. The team tested cognitive performance at set intervals, focusing on spatial attention, working memory, and executive control, and recorded brainwave activity to assess changes linked to these functions.

Those assigned to League of Legends showed larger improvements on tasks tied to attention, working memory, and executive control than the group playing Legends of the Three Kingdoms. Brainwave patterns associated with attention and memory shifted in the League of Legends group, and these changes persisted longer than in the comparison group, according to the study.

The authors pointed to the game’s cooperative play and rapid decision-making as possible factors. League of Legends is a five-on-five multiplayer online battle arena that requires continuous monitoring of game states, quick tactical choices, and resource management under time pressure.

The study focused on novice players and a fixed 30-week window, which limits how broadly the findings can be applied. The authors did not recommend extended daily play and noted the importance of balancing gaming with other activities.

League of Legends is developed by Riot Games and has a global competitive scene. Legends of the Three Kingdoms is a strategy title. Earlier academic work on video games and cognition has reported mixed outcomes depending on game genre, training length, and the specific tests used.