2 Video Games Linked To High Intelligence

Why It Matters

The link between MOBA skill and intelligence offers a new metric for talent identification in esports and highlights gaming’s potential as a low‑cost cognitive assessment tool for businesses and educators.

Key Takeaways

• MOBA skill correlates with higher IQ scores
• Players improve strategic games with age, unlike FPS
• Study published in PLOS ONE, 2017
• Findings extend chess‑IQ link to popular esports
• Potential for using games in talent assessment

Pulse Analysis

The relationship between video games and cognitive ability has long intrigued psychologists, but most research focused on classic strategy titles like chess. The 2017 PLOS ONE paper shifts the spotlight to modern esports, specifically League of Legends and DOTA 2, which demand real‑time decision‑making, memory management, and teamwork. By comparing player rankings with standardized IQ tests, the authors demonstrated a statistically significant correlation, indicating that success in these complex virtual arenas mirrors traditional measures of intelligence.

For the burgeoning esports industry, these findings carry practical weight. Talent scouts can now consider in‑game performance metrics as proxies for analytical thinking, potentially streamlining recruitment and reducing reliance on costly psychometric testing. Beyond competitive gaming, corporations are exploring gamified training modules that leverage MOBA mechanics to sharpen strategic planning and collaborative problem‑solving among employees. Educational institutions, too, may adopt carefully selected games to complement curricula, offering students an engaging avenue to develop higher‑order cognitive skills.

Nevertheless, the study’s scope has limits. It isolates two popular MOBAs and a narrow age range, leaving open questions about cross‑genre applicability and cultural factors influencing performance. Future research could expand to include emerging titles, longitudinal tracking, and neuroimaging to pinpoint the neural pathways engaged during high‑level play. As the line between entertainment and assessment blurs, stakeholders must balance enthusiasm with rigorous validation to ensure games serve as reliable, ethical tools for measuring intelligence.