Investigating the Effect of Display Refresh Rate on First-Person Shooting Games

Abstract: For first-person shooting game players, display refresh rate is important for a smooth experience. Multiple studies have shown that a low display refresh rate will reduce gamers' experience and performance. However, the human eye's perception of refresh rate has an upper limit, which is usually less than what high-performance monitors, for which players pay much higher prices, provide. This study assesses whether a higher refresh rate always has a positive impact on players' performance, making it worthwhile for them to invest in high-performance monitors. A within-group experimental design study was conducted using a commercial first-person shooting game platform (N = 26) to investigate players' performance at display refresh rates of 30Hz, 60Hz, 120Hz, 144Hz, and 240Hz. Player performance was assessed based on score, accuracy, and self-ratings from the players. The results show that display refresh rate only significantly affects player performance at 30Hz.