Sport or slouch?
The esports world is a strange beast. Competition is so ingrained in human nature that competitive games have been around since the early days of Spacewar!, and real-world tournaments for arcade titles such as Street Fighter were popular across the US and Asia throughout the ’90s and the early 2000s. The huge success of StarCraft in South Korea saw major matches televised for increasingly significant cash prizes. Fighting games, shooters, and MOBAs (multiplayer online battle arenas, such as League of
Legends) dominated the market, and still do. Only in the past decade, though, has the esports scene achieved widespread appeal. Major publishers started setting up their own events, while streaming platforms such as Twitch offered new routes into the competitive scene.
The esports formula is something many developers have tried to tap into, with varying degrees of success. For every Overwatch and Valorant, there is (or was) a Battleborn and a
Lawbreakers. Building the perfect esports game is an art that seemingly has yet to be mastered, but that hasn’t stopped the games industry from making its money.
It’s been a lot of money, too. The esports industry surpassed a billion dollars in net worth in 2020, and is showing no signs of slowing. COVID-19 actually led to an uptick in interest, with more people picking up gaming in lockdown and turning to professional streamers for advice.
The debate as to whether games can be considered a real sport will probably continue to rage for a few more decades, despite esports becoming increasingly prominent on platforms like ESPN and even being recognised by the Olympic Committee in 2017.