Video games are no longer only for a niche audience and are part of a multibillion-dollar industry these days. While gaming is a hobby for most players, there is a growing band of professionals making their living thanks to the rise of esports.
Esports are now firmly established worldwide, with millions of fans tuning in as players compete for prize pots that can rise to tens of millions of dollars. But what does it all mean and what will competition gaming look like in the future?
The rise of esports
Esports is the catch-all name for organized multiplayer video game competitions. These are played by professional players, either individually or as part of a team.
Casual competitions among friends have always been part of video game culture but this has now blossomed into a professional industry with millions of fans worldwide. Games like StarCraft and Warcraft led the way in the early 2000s as large-scale online competitions were held for those games. But by the next decade, things had changed dramatically once again.
Esports became part of the mainstream as players from all over the world gathered for major tournaments with cash prizes in the millions of dollars. Players flocked to watch these tournaments, while international fans watched online as these events were streamed live to ensure they didn’t miss out on any of the action.
Dota 2 broke records in 2021 as the game that gave rise to the most lucrative esports tournament in history, with a prize pot of over $40 million.
Streaming platforms
One of the big driving forces behind esports’ growth is the rise of streaming platforms. 2011 saw the launch of Twitch, a brand-new platform dedicated to gamers. A whole new generation of influencers was created almost overnight, building audiences who wanted to watch them game.
Some streamers took players through games with tutorials, while others reveled in building whole new worlds with games like Minecraft, but undoubtedly, streaming’s marriage with gaming allowed esports to thrive.
Twitch became a home for esports tournaments to be viewed from all around the world. That led to their rise in popularity, with viewers enjoying the thrills and excitement of high-stakes tournaments featuring some of the most popular games and players.
Streaming also raised major revenue for esports as advertisers soon caught on to the potential of the industry, pouring money into tournaments and teams to be part of the action.
A different kind of online gaming
One element of online gaming that often goes overlooked in the esports discussion is online casinos. Esports focuses on traditional video games but there has been competitive gaming on online casinos ever since they were invented.
Thanks to technological advancements that have also benefitted esports, players can enjoy the challenge of playing against each other while enjoying classic casino games such as poker or blackjack.
The 2020 World Series of Poker Online Main Event was the biggest online poker tournament to date. It offered a prize pool of over $27 million, attracting over 5,000 players who all wanted a piece of that fortune. Online poker tournaments take place every week and allow players to pit their wits against opponents all over the world.
Increasingly, there is also a market for sweepstakes gaming in the online casino industry, giving players an entirely different way to play. Sites such as WSN.com offer players more insight than ever before into the platforms offering those options.
The evolution of professional esports
Like traditional sports, as esports grew in popularity, it became more professional. Competitive gaming was traditionally an amateur pursuit, a hobby where people enjoyed sharing in playing their favorite game with the added spice of a little competition. But money changes everything.
As the audiences grew, the revenue followed suit and the money in the sport meant more and more gamers saw esports as a legitimate career option. Major companies got on the bandwagon, creating their own esports teams, as have many traditional sports teams, such as Manchester City of the English Premier League.
One of the biggest esports teams in the world is Team Liquid, and their rise is reminiscent of esports’ own rise to prominence. The team originated in 2000 as a StarCraft community, but as esports took hold, they formed an official team in 2010 and have since branched out into other lucrative titles, such as League of Legends.
It was the League of Legends Championship Series in 2013 that first set up a formal league, as seen in sports such as soccer, the NFL and even newer sports like disc golf. This organization further legitimized esports and elevated it further.
Soon, it wasn’t just on streaming platforms that fans could tune in to the action, with many of the biggest esports tournaments being televised in countries such as South Korea and China.
Sponsorship from global giants such as Coca-Cola and Mercedes-Benz show how seriously esports are taken. They can introduce brands to a whole new audience of gamers and fans who are notoriously hard to reach through traditional advertising means.
Social media and influencers
Esports is intertwined with influencers and social media audiences. These platforms have played a huge part in popularizing the industry as influencers share space with professional gamers to build their own brand, engage with their legions of fans and promote events.
Fans can feel a real connection with their favorite esports stars as they get more interaction with them.
Social media has also let esports stars become celebrities on the same level as traditional sports athletes. Influence and a huge number of followers means no shortage of endorsement deals, making esports a potentially lucrative option for those who spend their time building a following as well as nailing their game of choice.
The future of esports
Esports is an industry that’s only going to continue to grow. New games and genres are expected to enter the competitive arena in the coming years, but it’s technology that could bring the next big breakthrough in competitive video game tournaments.
Virtual reality and augmented reality are set to take immersiveness to a whole new level in video games. These promise to blur the lines between the real and the digital, offering a whole new experience for players and viewers of these tournaments.
Esports is a truly global endeavor and with competitions taking place all over the world, the industry is bringing people together like never before. The cultural impact of esports is massive and probably not yet fully understood. But as the years go on and more people look to esports, both for their entertainment and with dreams of a career as a player, the industry certainly has the potential to make a huge impact.
