Esports facts for kids
The stage for the 2017 League of Legends World Championship Finals in Beijing
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| First played | 1972; Stanford University, California, US |
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| Contact | No |
| Team members | Team or individuals |
| Mixed-sex | Yes |
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| Country or region | Worldwide |
Esports, short for electronic sports, is a type of competition using video games. It involves organized multiplayer video game matches. These matches often feature professional players competing individually or in teams.
Competitive video gaming has been around for a long time. However, it became much more popular in the late 2000s and early 2010s. This was thanks to online streaming media platforms like YouTube and Twitch. These platforms allowed many professional gamers and viewers to join in. By the 2010s, esports became a big part of the video game world. Many game creators now design games for tournaments and even help fund these events.
Esports first became popular in East Asia, especially in China and South Korea. South Korea even started licensing professional players in 2000. It was less popular in Japan because of strict laws against gambling, which affected prize money for tournaments. Esports is also very popular in Europe and the Americas. These regions host many big events for players from around the world.
The most common types of games in esports are multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games, first-person shooter (FPS) games, fighting games, card games, battle royales, and real-time strategy (RTS) games. Some famous esports games include League of Legends, Dota, Counter-Strike, Valorant, Overwatch, Street Fighter, Super Smash Bros., and StarCraft. Top tournaments include the League of Legends World Championship, Dota 2's International, the Evolution Championship Series (EVO) for fighting games, and Intel Extreme Masters. Many other competitions use leagues with sponsored teams, like the Overwatch League. Esports has even been featured alongside traditional sports in some events in Asia. The International Olympic Committee has discussed including esports in future Olympic events, with the Olympic Esports Games planned for 2027.
In the early 2010s, about 85% of esports viewers were male and 15% were female. Most viewers were between 18 and 34 years old. By 2020, the total audience for esports grew to 454 million viewers. Revenue also increased to over $1 billion, with China making up 35% of this global income.
Contents
The Exciting History of Esports Competitions
Early Days: From Spacewar! to Arcade Challenges (1972–1989)
The very first known video game competition happened on October 19, 1972. It was at Stanford University for a game called Spacewar! Students competed in an "Intergalactic spacewar olympics." The winner received a year's subscription to Rolling Stone magazine.
Early esports also came from face-to-face arcade video game competitions. In 1974, Sega held the All Japan TV Game Championships. This was a big arcade tournament across Japan to promote video games. Prizes included television sets and cassette tape recorders.
The "golden age of arcade video games" began with Space Invaders in 1978. This game made high scores popular for all players. Many games after that, like Asteroids (1979), also tracked high scores. Chasing high scores became a fun way to compete.
The Space Invaders Championship in 1980 was the first large video game competition. Over 10,000 people across the United States took part. This event showed that competitive gaming could be a popular hobby. Rebecca Heineman won this championship.
Walter Day, an arcade owner, started Twin Galaxies in 1980. This group kept records of high scores. They helped make video games famous through publications like the Guinness Book of World Records. In 1983, they created the U.S. National Video Game Team. This team competed in tournaments and even went on a tour called the "Electronic Circus." These players became minor celebrities, appearing in magazines like Life and Time.
In 1984, Konami and Centuri held a huge international Track & Field competition. Over a million players from Japan and North America joined. It still holds the record for the largest organized video game competition ever.
Televised esports events also appeared during this time. The American show Starcade (1982-1984) featured contestants trying to beat each other's arcade game scores.
Modern Era: Online Gaming and Global Growth (1990–Present)
The fighting game Street Fighter II (1991) changed competitive gaming. Instead of just high scores, players challenged each other directly. This led to the competitive multiplayer and deathmatch modes we see in today's action games. The popularity of fighting games like Street Fighter led to the Evolution Championship Series (EVO) tournament, founded in 1996.
Big tournaments in the 1990s included the 1990 Nintendo World Championships. Nintendo held another World Championships in 1994 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
In the 1990s, many games benefited from the growing internet connectivity, especially PC games. Doom (1993) introduced competitive multiplayer online with its deathmatch mode. Tournaments like the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL), QuakeCon, and the Professional Gamers League started in the late 1990s. Popular PC games included Counter-Strike, Quake, StarCraft, and Warcraft.
Esports grew a lot in South Korea due to widespread broadband Internet. Many internet cafés, called PC bangs, also helped. The Korean e-Sports Association was founded in 2000 to promote esports in the country.
The 2000s also saw televised esports, especially in South Korea. Channels like Ongamenet and MBCGame regularly showed StarCraft and Warcraft III competitions.
During the 2010s, esports grew hugely in both viewers and prize money. The number of tournaments increased from about 10 in 2000 to around 260 in 2010. Major tournaments like the World Cyber Games, Intel Extreme Masters, and Major League Gaming were founded.
Online streaming services like Twitch, launched in 2011, greatly boosted esports. Twitch routinely streams popular esports competitions. In 2013, viewers watched 12 billion minutes of video on Twitch.
Video game companies also started to embrace esports. Nintendo hosted the Wii Games Summer 2010, with over 400,000 participants. In 2014, Nintendo held a Super Smash Bros. for Wii U tournament at E3 that was streamed online. Developers like 343 Industries (for Halo), Blizzard Entertainment, and Riot Games created their own esports programs.
Since 2013, universities and colleges in the United States, such as Robert Morris University Illinois, have recognized esports players as varsity athletes. They even offer athletic scholarships. In 2017, Tespa, Blizzard's college esports division, offered $1 million in scholarships and prizes. By 2018, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology started a tuition scholarship program for esports players.
Physical attendance at esports events also grew. The Season 3 League of Legends World Championship in 2013 sold out the Staples Center. The 2014 League of Legends World Championship in Seoul had over 40,000 fans.
In 2015, the first Esports Arena opened in Santa Ana, California. This was the first dedicated esports facility in the United States. The global esports audience reached 662.6 million in 2020 and 921 million in 2022.
In 2021, China passed a law limiting minors to playing video games for no more than three hours a week. This law caused some concerns about the future of esports in China.
Is Esports a Real Sport?
Whether competitive video games should be called a "sport" is a debated topic. Supporters say esports is a fast-growing "non-traditional sport." They argue it needs "careful planning, precise timing, and skillful execution." Others believe sports require physical fitness and training. They prefer to call esports a "mind sport."
Former ESPN president John Skipper said in 2014 that esports is a competition, but "not a sport." However, many countries have officially recognized esports as a sport. Russia first classified "cybersport" as an official sport in 2001. China also recognized esports as a sport in 2003. By early 2019, China even recognized esports players as an official profession.
In 2013, Canadian League of Legends player Danny "Shiphtur" Le became the first pro gamer to get a special American visa for "Internationally Recognized Athletes." Turkey's Ministry of Youth and Sports started giving esports licenses to professional players in 2014. The French government also began working to recognize esports in 2016.
To help promote esports as a real sport, several events have been held alongside traditional international sports. Esports was an official medal-winning event at the 2007 Asian Indoor Games. It has been included in later editions of the Asian Indoor Games and Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games. Esports was also a medal event at the 2022 Asian Games. The 2019 Southeast Asian Games included six medal events for esports. Since 2018, World Sailing has held an eSailing World Championship.
In June 2021, the Swedish Sports Confederation voted against recognizing esports as a sport. This caused issues for The International 2021 tournament, which was planned for Stockholm. Valve, the game developer, had to move the event to Romania.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games included esports competitions as a pilot event. This was a test for it to potentially become a full medal event in 2026. In Greece, a law recognizing and regulating esports came into force in March 2022.
Olympic Games Recognition for Esports
The Olympic Games are seen as a way to make esports even more legitimate. In October 2017, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognized esports' growing popularity. They stated that "Competitive 'esports' could be considered as a sporting activity." They noted that players "prepare and train with an intensity which may be comparable to athletes in traditional sports." However, any games used for the Olympics must fit "with the rules and regulations of the Olympic movement."
IOC president Thomas Bach has expressed concerns about violent games. Because of this, the IOC suggested they would prefer esports based on games that simulate real sports. Examples include the NBA 2K or FIFA series.
The IOC has explored possibilities for including esports. In July 2018, the IOC and the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) held a meeting. They invited major figures in esports to learn more about it. The IOC has also tested esports through exhibition games. Intel sponsored esports events for StarCraft II and Steep before the 2018 Winter Olympics. Five South Korean esports players were even part of the Olympic Torch relay.
In December 2019, the IOC confirmed it would only consider sports-simulating games for official Olympic events. They would look at games promoting physical and mental health. They also considered virtual reality and augmented reality games that involve physical activity.
Japan's leaders became involved in bringing esports to the Olympics. This was due to Japan's role as a major video game industry center. Efforts began in late 2017 to address Japan's anti-gambling laws. These laws had prevented large prize pools for professional gaming tournaments. The Japan esports Union (JeSU) was formed to support esports. This led to esports players being able to get special licenses to compete professionally.
The Tokyo Olympic Committee planned esports events leading up to the 2020 games. Five esports events were part of an Olympic Virtual Series from May 13 to June 23, 2021. These events included auto racing, baseball, cycling, rowing, and sailing. Each event was managed by an IOC-recognized sports body and a video game publisher.
The committee for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris discussed esports. They wanted to keep the Olympics relevant to younger generations. However, they decided it was too early for esports to be medal events in 2024. They did not rule out other esports-related activities during the Games.
In September 2021, the Olympic Council of Asia announced eight esports games. These games officially debuted as medal sports for the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. The IOC confirmed its Olympic Virtual Series (OVS) returned in 2022. The first OVS had nearly 250,000 participants.
In January 2022, the IOC appointed its first head of virtual sport. This person is in charge of developing virtual sport for the Olympic body. They also oversee the Olympic Virtual Series. In February 2022, the Commonwealth Games Federation announced esports would be a pilot event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. It could become a medal event in the 2026 Games.
The inaugural Commonwealth Esports Championship had separate branding and medals. It included men's and women's Dota 2, eFootball, and Rocket League events.
As a follow-up to the 2021 Olympic Virtual Series, the IOC and the Singapore National Olympic Council held an Olympic Esports Week in Singapore in June 2023. Games featured included Tic Tac Bow (archery), WBSC eBaseball: Power Pros (baseball), Chess.com (chess), Zwift (cycling), Just Dance (dancing), Gran Turismo (motorsport), Virtual Regatta (esailing), Fortnite (sharpshooting), Virtual Taekwondo (taekwondo), and Tennis Clash (tennis).
In June 2024, the IOC Executive Board proposed establishing the Olympic Esports Games. This proposal was approved by a unanimous vote on July 23, 2024. The first event was initially planned for 2025 in Saudi Arabia, but was later rescheduled for 2027. The partnership with the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee was terminated on October 30, 2025. The IOC will still organize an Olympic Esports Games with a new partnership.
Popular Esports Games
Many games are popular among professional competitors. Tournaments in the mid-1990s often featured fighting games and first-person shooters. These types of games still have many dedicated fans. In the 2000s, real-time strategy games became very popular in South Korean internet cafés.
Today, the most popular esports games include Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Call of Duty, League of Legends, Dota 2, Fortnite, Rocket League, Valorant, Hearthstone, Super Smash Bros. Melee, StarCraft II, and Overwatch. Hearthstone also made the digital collectible card game (DCCG) genre popular after its release in 2014.
How Video Games are Designed for Esports
Some video games are designed specifically for professional play from the start. Developers might add special esports features. They might even make design choices to support high-level competition. Games like StarCraft II, League of Legends, and Dota 2 were partly designed with professional competition in mind.
Spectator Mode: Watching the Action
Many game developers add special viewing features for spectators. This can be as simple as letting people watch from a player's view. It can also be a special interface that gives viewers more information than the players have. Sometimes, the game view for spectators is slightly delayed. This prevents teams from gaining an unfair advantage. Games with these features include Counter-Strike series, Call of Duty, StarCraft II, and Dota 2. League of Legends has spectator features for custom games.
Some games, like Dota 2, have even added virtual reality spectating support. This allows viewers to feel more immersed in the game.
Online Play: Connecting Globally
The Internet is a very common way for players to connect. Game servers are often in different regions. However, good internet connections allow players to compete in real-time across the world. A downside is that it's harder to detect cheating online than at physical events. Also, network lag can affect players' performance. Many smaller tournaments and exhibition games happen online.
Since the 1990s, professional teams have set up matches using online chat networks. Now, games often have built-in matchmaking systems. Blizzard's Battle.net, released in 1996, made this popular. It's used in Warcraft and StarCraft games. Console games also use automated matchmaking services like Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network.
Local Area Network (LAN): Fair Play and Social Events
Competitions are also often held over a local area network (LAN). A LAN is a smaller network that usually has very little lag. This means a higher quality connection. Players must be physically present at LAN events. This helps ensure fair play because officials can watch competitors directly. It helps prevent cheating, like using unauthorized hardware or software. Being physically together also creates a more social atmosphere. Many gamers organize LAN parties or visit Internet cafés. Most major tournaments use LANs.
Some games have changed their LAN support. StarCraft II was released without LAN play, which many players disliked. League of Legends was initially online-only, but a LAN client was later made for major tournaments. In September 2013, Valve added general LAN play support to Dota 2.
Players and Teams in Esports
General Players and Teams: Working Together to Win
Professional gamers often belong to esports teams or larger gaming organizations. Teams like FaZe Clan, Cloud9, Fnatic, T1, G2 Esports, and Natus Vincere are very successful. They sponsor esports players worldwide. These teams often compete in many different esports games. They might have different team lineups for each game. They can also represent single players for one-on-one games like fighting games or Hearthstone tournaments.
Besides prize money from winning tournaments, players on these teams may also get a salary. Team sponsors, like Logitech and Razer, might cover travel costs or gaming equipment. Teams show off their sponsors on their websites, jerseys, and social media. In 2016, the biggest teams had over a million followers on social media. Organizations like the Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA) and the International Esports Federation (IESF) help manage esports.
Some traditional sports athletes have invested in esports. For example, Rick Fox owned Echo Fox. Some football teams, like FC Schalke 04 in Germany, also sponsor or own esports teams.
Top esports tournaments pay players hundreds to thousands of dollars for winning. Dota 2's 2021 tournament, The International, had a prize pool over $40 million. This was the largest in esports history. However, financial security is mostly for players on top-performing teams. One study found that only 1 in 5 professional gamers have careers lasting longer than two years. Team rosters can change very quickly, sometimes within a single season.
Esports athletes have intense training routines, similar to traditional sports. Team Liquid's League of Legends team practices at least 50 hours a week. Most players play even more. Researchers found that some top esports players show similar mental toughness to Olympic athletes. This demanding schedule often leads to players retiring at a young age. Players usually start competing in their mid-to-late teens and often retire by their late 20s.
Unique Players and Teams: Overcoming Challenges
There are many esports teams and players who are unique. For example, some esports organizations are made up entirely of players with physical disabilities. Permastunned and ParaEsports are examples of this. ParaEsports is a team of professional CS:GO players who have cerebral palsy.
While these teams might not always win in the major leagues, they are still important. There are special leagues or tournaments just for teams or players like these. Even if these events don't get as much attention or prize money, it's inspiring to see these amazing players succeed. They overcome challenges to compete at a high level.
Esports Leagues and Tournaments
Promotion and Relegation Leagues: Moving Up and Down
In most team-based esports, organized play uses a system called promotion and relegation. This means teams move between different leagues based on how well they perform. This is similar to how professional sports work in Europe and Asia. Teams play many games in a season to try and get a top spot. Teams that do well might move up to a higher-level league. Teams that don't perform well can move down to a lower league.
For example, until 2018, Riot Games ran several League of Legends series. The League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) was the top league in North America and Europe. Teams that didn't do well were moved down to the League of Legends Challenger Series. Better teams from the Challenger Series took their place. This format changed when Riot started using a franchise system. However, as of 2025, leagues like the League of Legends Championship of The Americas (LTA) use a hybrid system. Most teams are franchised, but some can still be relegated.
Franchised Leagues: Stable Teams and Big Investments
With more people watching esports, some companies created leagues like those in North American professional sports. In these "franchised" leagues, all teams are backed by big financial sponsors. They play a regular season to compete for a top spot and then play in post-season games. This system is more appealing to large investors. They are more likely to support a team that stays in the top league and isn't at risk of moving down.
These leagues usually require players to have a minimum salary and benefits. Players might also share in the team's winnings. While teams don't move up or down, players can be signed to contracts, traded, or become free agents. New players might come from the esports' equivalent of a minor league.
The first such league was the Overwatch League, created by Blizzard Entertainment in 2016 for its Overwatch game. It started in 2018 with 12 teams and grew to 20 teams in 2019. The first two seasons were played in Los Angeles. The third season in 2020 used a home/away game format in teams' home cities. The OWL ended in 2023 and was replaced by the Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS).
Take-Two Interactive and the National Basketball Association (NBA) created the NBA 2K League. This league uses the NBA 2K game series. It was the first esports league run by a professional sports league. Its first season started in May 2018 with 17 teams.
EA Sports and Major League Soccer (MLS) started the eMLS in 2018. This league uses EA's FIFA (now EA Sports FC) series. EA later created esports leagues with other football leagues. These leagues help players qualify for the FIFAe World Cup and the EA Sports FC Pro World Championship.
Activision launched its Call of Duty League in January 2020. It follows the Overwatch League format but uses the Call of Duty series.
Tournaments: Big Events with Huge Prizes
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Esports are also often played in tournaments. Players and teams compete in qualification matches to enter the main tournament. Tournament formats can vary, including single or double elimination. Sometimes they start with group stages. Esports tournaments are almost always live events with an audience. Referees or officials are present to prevent cheating. A tournament might be part of a larger gathering, like Dreamhack. Or, the competition itself might be the whole event, like the World Cyber Games or the Fortnite World Cup. Esports competitions are also popular at gaming conventions.
Esports tournaments became much larger in the late 1990s, starting with the Cyberathlete Professional League in 1997. Corporate sponsorship became more common. More viewers, both in person and online, brought esports to a wider audience. Major tournaments in the past included the World Cyber Games and Major League Gaming. The current largest esports tournament is the Esports World Cup, a two-month event in Saudi Arabia.
Traditional sports teams make money from ticket sales, media rights, advertising, and sponsorships. Esports teams mainly rely on tournament prize money, sponsorships, and advertising. The average pay for professional esports players is not as high as for top traditional sports athletes. However, the top esports player earned around $2.5 million in 2017. The highest overall salary for an esports professional was about $3.6 million.
While prize money can be very large, there are limited competitions and many competitors. This means not everyone makes a lot of money. The most prestigious esports competitions have prizes that can reach over $200,000 for a single win. Dota 2's The International tournament once awarded the winning team almost $10.9 million.
For well-known games, total prize money can be millions of U.S. dollars a year. As of September 10, 2016, Dota 2 had awarded about $86 million in prize money across 632 tournaments. Twenty-three players had won over $1 million. League of Legends awarded about $30 million in 1749 tournaments. Riot Games also provides salaries for players in their professional leagues. However, some criticize how these salaries are given out. Most players earn a low wage, while a few top players earn much more. In August 2018, The International 2018 broke the record for the largest prize pool in esports history, over $25 million.
Game developers often provide prize money directly. However, sponsors like computer hardware, energy drink, or software companies also contribute. Hosting a large esports event is usually not profitable on its own. For example, Riot has said their League of Legends Championship Series is "a significant investment that we're not making money from."
Game developers and tournament organizers have different relationships. The original StarCraft events in South Korea grew mostly on their own. But for StarCraft II, Blizzard required organizers to get authorization for events. This led to an agreement in 2012. Blizzard requires authorization for tournaments with over $10,000 in prizes. Riot Games offers in-game rewards for authorized tournaments.
University and School Leagues: Esports in Education
The growing popularity of esports led to more opportunities for athletes. Esports clubs became popular at American universities in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Universities, especially in China and America, started offering scholarships for students to join college esports teams. The first officially recognized varsity esports program began at Robert Morris University in 2014. As of 2019, about 125 US colleges had varsity esports programs. Most of these are part of the National Association of Collegiate Esports.
The UK's National University Esports League (NUEL) started in 2010. In 2023, a Spanish esports company took it over. As of 2024, it was rebranded as University Esports UK & Ireland and had over 110 universities. Another UK competition is the British Universities Esports Championship, run by National Student Esports (NSE). It also had over 110 universities and colleges as of 2024. The University of Warwick won its sixth straight NES Esports University of the Year title in 2024. For younger students, the British Esports Student Champs had over 1,250 teams from over 200 schools and colleges as of 2024.
Researchers believe esports programs can greatly impact universities. This is due to the growing interest from universities in these programs.
Governing Bodies: Keeping Esports Organized
While game publishers often oversee specific esports, many esports governing bodies have been created. These groups represent esports at national, regional, or global levels. They might help regulate esports or simply act as a public face for the industry.
The International Esports Federation (IESF) was one of the first such bodies. Formed in 2008, it now includes over 140 member countries. The IESF organizes annual World Esports Championships for teams from its member countries.
The European Esports Federation was formed in April 2019. It includes countries like the UK, Germany, and France. This body helps coordinate event structures and rules across different esports.
Video game trade groups also act as governing bodies. In November 2019, five major national trade organizations released a statement. They supported esports while promoting player safety, respect, diversity, and fair gameplay.
Challenges and Concerns in Esports
Health and Well-being for Players
Most esports require players to sit for long periods. This raises concerns about a sedentary lifestyle. One study found that professional and amateur esports gamers play about 24–25 hours per week. Long hours of sitting can lead to eye fatigue and lower back pain from poor posture. Poor posture can cause problems like reduced arm or shoulder movement and tension headaches. Spending more than 6–8 hours a day sitting is linked to higher risks of heart disease. Because of this, teams like T1 have partnered with Nike. They encourage exercise and provide training to improve gaming skills.
Structured esports activities can help with teamwork and problem-solving. They also promote digital literacy. However, concerns about sitting too much and mental health risks remain. Players often face psychological and physical stress. Amateur players are especially affected when they aim for big wins without enough preparation. High stress levels can lead to mental health issues and poor decision-making. The esports industry has a high rate of burnout due to stress. One study found a link between depression and long training times, leading to sleep problems. Some teams, like Misfits Gaming, now hire psychologists to help players manage stress and anxiety.
Fair Play and Ethical Conduct
Esports athletes are expected to act ethically. They must follow tournament rules, association guidelines, and team rules. They also need to show good sportsmanship. For example, it's polite to send a "gg" (good game) message after a match. Many games rely on players having limited information about the game. In one example, during a 2012 IEM StarCraft II game, players Feast and DeMusliM shared their strategies. They did this to avoid any unfairness from information accidentally leaked to Feast.
Some players have been disciplined for bad behavior.
There have been serious rule violations. In 2010, eleven StarCraft: Brood War players were found guilty of match-fixing for money. They were banned from future competitions. Team Curse and Team Dignitas lost prize money for working together during a 2012 tournament. In 2012, League of Legends team Azubu Frost was fined $30,000 for cheating. In 2014, four Counter-Strike players were suspended for match-fixing. They allegedly made over $10,000 by betting on their own fixed matches.
Concerns have also been raised about betting on esports. This is especially true for betting using virtual items from games, like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive "skins." These concerns often relate to the possibility of underage individuals participating.
Player Well-being and Support
There have been concerns about how players are treated, especially in South Korea. Some Korean organizations were accused of not paying fair salaries. This led many Korean players to move to other markets. One League of Legends player, Bae "Dade" Eo-jin, said that "Korean players wake up at 1 pm and play until 5 am." He suggested that this 16-hour schedule caused burnout.
To improve the situation, Riot Games introduced new rules for Korean League of Legends teams in 2015. These rules included minimum salaries for professional players. They also required contracts and allowed players to stream individually for extra income.
Esports games often require many actions per minute. This can lead to repetitive strain injuries, causing hand or wrist pain. Early in the esports industry, these injuries were often ignored. This led to some players retiring early.
Women in Esports
The number of female viewers in esports has been growing. In 2013, about 30% of esports viewers were female, a big increase from the previous year. As of 2024, 33% of European esports viewers are female. However, there are still few female players in high-level competitive esports. Top female players often gain recognition in female-only tournaments. These include competitions for Counter-Strike, Dead or Alive 4, and StarCraft II. Current all-female esports teams include Frag Dolls and PMS Clan.
The creation of Team Siren, an all-female League of Legends team, in 2013 caused some debate. The team broke up within a month due to negative attention. In 2018, Team Vaevictis tried to field an all-female roster in Russia's top esports league. They faced similar criticism and struggled to compete.
The Business Side of Esports
The League of Legends Championship Series and League of Legends Champions Korea offer guaranteed salaries for players. However, some players prefer online streaming. In some cases, streaming can be more profitable than competing with a team. Streamers also get to set their own schedules. The International tournament awards $10 million to the winners. But teams that don't win often lack financial stability and may break up.
In 2015, SuperData Research estimated that the global esports industry made about $748.8 million in revenue. Asia was the leading market, with over $321 million. North America followed with about $224 million, and Europe with $172 million. The rest of the world combined for about $29 million. Global esports revenue was estimated to reach $1.9 billion by 2018. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the video gaming industry grew. It helped people connect during lockdowns, becoming an important economic sector.
Data Analytics and Machine Learning: Smart Strategies
Machine learning in data analytics is becoming popular. Esports has become a focus for software programs that analyze game data. Millions of matches are played daily worldwide. For example, League of Legends had 100 million active monthly players in 2016. These games provide a lot of data for machine learning platforms. Some games make their data public. Websites then gather this data into easy-to-understand graphs and statistics.
Programs use machine learning to predict win probabilities based on factors like team composition. In 2018, the DotA team Team Liquid partnered with a software company. This allowed players and coaches to predict their success rate in matches. It also gave advice on how to improve performance.
Game Cancellations: When Esports End
More esports competitions are run by the video game publisher. This means the future of a game's esports activities depends on that company. In December 2018, Blizzard announced it was reducing resources for Heroes of the Storm. They also canceled tournaments for 2019. This meant several professional Heroes players and coaches realized their careers were no longer possible. They expressed anger and disappointment at Blizzard's decision.
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News Reporting: Keeping Up with the Latest
The main way esports news is shared is through the Internet. In the mid-2010s, major sports and news websites started covering esports. These included ESPN, Yahoo!, Sport1, Kicker, and Aftonbladet. Esports tournaments often use commentators, or "casters," to provide live commentary. This is similar to traditional sports commentators. For popular casters, this can be a full-time job. Famous StarCraft II casters include Dan "Artosis" Stemkoski and Nick "Tasteless" Plott.
The COVID-19 pandemic affected how esports were covered. ESPN closed its dedicated esports coverage in November 2020. The network decided to focus more on traditional sports. However, they still cover some esports events.
In 2018, the Associated Press' AP Stylebook officially started spelling the word as "esports." They dropped the capital "S" and the dash. This is similar to how "e-mail" became "email." Richard Tyler Blevins, known as "Ninja," became the first professional gamer to be on the cover of a major sports magazine. He appeared in the September 2018 issue of ESPN The Magazine.
Internet Live Streaming: Watching Games Online
Many esports events are streamed online for viewers. After the Own3d streaming service closed in 2013, Twitch became the most popular streaming service for esports. It competes with other providers like Hitbox.tv, Azubu, and YouTube Gaming. Dreamhack Winter 2011 had 1.7 million unique viewers on Twitch.
Live events usually get the most viewers. However, streaming services also let individuals broadcast their own gameplay. These broadcasters can make agreements with Twitch or Hitbox. They receive a share of the advertising money from commercials shown on their streams.
Another major streaming platform was Major League Gaming's MLG.tv. This network focuses on Call of Duty content. It saw huge growth in viewership in early 2014. The 2014 Call of Duty: Ghosts broadcast at MLG's X Games event had over 160,000 unique viewers. Like Twitch, MLG.tv allowed users to broadcast their games. For several years, MLG.tv was the main platform for professional Call of Duty. Famous players like NaDeSHoT and Scump signed contracts to stream exclusively on it. In January 2016, MLG was bought by Activision Blizzard.
YouTube also relaunched its livestreaming platform. It now focuses on live gaming and esports. For The International 2014, coverage was also shown on ESPN's streaming service ESPN3. In December 2016, Riot Games made a deal with BAM Tech. This company would distribute and make money from League of Legends broadcasts until 2023. BAM Tech agreed to pay Riot at least $300 million per year and share advertising revenue.
Television: Esports on the Big Screen
With the rise of online streaming, esports organizations no longer prioritize television coverage. They prefer online streaming websites like Twitch. Ongamenet continues to broadcast esports in South Korea. However, MBCGame stopped broadcasting in 2012. Riot Games' Dustin Beck said that "TV's not a priority or a goal." DreamHack's Tomas Hermansson said "esports have [been proven] to be successful on internet streaming [services]."
The night before The International 2014 finals, ESPN3 aired a half-hour special about the tournament. In 2015, ESPN2 broadcast Heroes of the Dorm. This was the grand finals of a college Heroes of the Storm tournament. The winning team from the University of California, Berkeley received tuition for each player. This was paid for by Blizzard and Tespa. The top four teams won gaming equipment and new computers. This was the first time an esport was broadcast on a major American television network. The broadcast aimed to attract new viewers. However, some people complained that those outside the US couldn't watch. Also, a large portion of the main audience couldn't watch online streams.
In September 2015, Turner Broadcasting partnered with WME/IMG. In December 2015, they announced two seasons of the ELeague. This was a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league in North America. It featured 15 teams competing for a $1,200,000 prize pool each season. The tournament was filmed in Atlanta, Georgia. It was streamed online and on TBS on Friday nights.
In January 2016, Activision Blizzard bought Major League Gaming. Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said the company wanted to create a US cable network for esports. He called it "the ESPN of video games." He believed higher quality productions, like traditional sports broadcasts, could attract more advertisers.
TV 2, Norway's largest private television broadcaster, shows esports across the country. TV 2 partnered with House of Nerds to bring a full season of esports competition. It included Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, and StarCraft II.
In April 2016, Big Ten Network announced a partnership with Riot. They held a League of Legends competition between two universities. On January 17, 2017, Big Ten Network and Riot announced a larger season of competition. It involved 10 Big Ten schools.
Nielsen Holdings, a company known for tracking TV viewership, launched Nielsen esports in August 2017. This division focuses on providing viewership data for esports. They formed an advisory board with members from ESL, Activision Blizzard, Twitch, YouTube, ESPN, and FIFA.
In July 2018, Blizzard and Disney announced a multi-year deal. Disney and its networks ESPN and ABC gained broadcast rights for the Overwatch League and Overwatch World Cup. This started with the playoffs and continued with future events.
See also
In Spanish: Deportes electrónicos para niños
- Competitive programming
- Gamer
- Fantasy sport
- International Esports Federation
- Doris Self (recognised in 2007 by Guinness World Records as the oldest video game competitor)
- Video game culture
- Phygital sport
