Go Red: Team Color May Affect Match Outcome

Want to win? Join the red team. You’ll be more likely to win, according to research published in CyberPsychology & Behavior.

In a scientific study done on Unreal Tournament 2004, a multiplayer FPS, researchers discovered that in this game, the red team had a slight advantage over blue. Taking the outcome of 1,347 matches from public servers worldwide while allowing players to freely choose between the colors, researchers recorded that the red team won 55% of the time. So, this would apply to Halo 3, Team Fortress 2, and other first-person shooters that use the blue and red color scheme as well.

The study, led by neuroscientist Mihai Moldovan of the University of Copenhagen, offers a possible explanation for this propensity, saying that red might be a “psychological distractor for men.”

Could this significance be from all the years of pre-made associations with the color red? Red traffic signs represent a warning; it tells motorists to yield or stop. Red is the color of anger, passion, and blood. Bulls react to the color red vehemently. With all that, red is by no means a neutral color, most likely resulting from a history of violence.

Interestingly, the significance and impact colors have do not just apply to video games; it even occurs in competitive sports.

Much like heads or tails, you would expect a 50/50 chance of winning. However, 55% of 1347 is roughly 741, meaning that the red team won a hundred games more than the blue team. The numbers are significant because the red team has a slight edge percentage-wise, but a hundred games may not be that big of a deal. Why not try joining the red team and test this hypothesis for yourself? Then again, you might end up joining the red team expecting to win every game, like I did. I guess I’m just a scientific anomaly.