For decades, millions of gamers around the world have dreamed about finding a way to turn their passion for playing video games into a career.
However, with a few minor exceptions, that was simply a work of fiction as video games were generally seen as little more than a way to have fun.
Fast forward to today, and things look very different. A huge industry of gamers has created a range of ways to monetize their passions.
Many of the most talented and performative players have turned their hours-long gaming sessions into a form of entertainment as they stream their gameplay and footage of themselves live for millions to watch.
Another way that video games have been professionalized is through esports.
These are competitive video game leagues and tournaments where players battle it out against other individuals or teams in the hope of claiming glory, cash prizes, prestige, and lucrative sponsorship deals.
Esports, at least in their modern guise, got off to a humble start in the early 2000s through competitions like the Intel Extreme Masters which were followed by just a small group of hardcore gamers.
In the 20 years that have passed since esports have become a much more mainstream concept.
The growth has been particularly dramatic in the last few years with an explosive increase in the number of people following esports competitions.
According to New Zoo, 2022 saw 532 million people watching games at least occasionally, with almost half of them describing themselves as ‘enthusiasts’.
That marks an 8.7% increase from 2021, which was already up by 12.4% on 2020’s numbers. According to its analysis, the number of esports fans will rise even further to over 640 million by 2025.
Variety Is the Spice of Esports
Esports competitions come in all shapes and sizes, with practically any video game able to be used, provided there’s an online multiplayer mode available.
Some of the most popular options include Call of Duty, League of Legends, Dota 2, and Rocket League, though there are also more niche ones like GeoGuesser, Age of Empires, Farming Simulator, and Shrek SuperSlam.
Online poker is another popular esport. Leading online card rooms like PokerStars have helped to facilitate this popularity by creating a range of different online tournaments, each one offering something unique.
For example, Zoom takes away the waiting that can make some games feel slow by moving you to a new hand at a new table as soon as you fold, while Omania is a daily tournament for fans of Omaha games.
There are even esports for the video game versions of traditional sports like soccer with titles like FIFA being used for official esports tournaments and leagues. But does this pose a threat to the beautiful game in the real world?
Esports Are a Marketing Tool
One of the key factors that suggests soccer is not under threat from esports is that the entities involved in the sport are fully embracing this digital revolution.
From confederations to leagues and from teams to individual players, almost everyone sees esports as an opportunity.
The reasoning is that esports appeals to a different demographic than traditional sports, allowing them to reach a much younger audience.
So, given that most real-world competitions are facing an aging fanbase as existing supporters grow older and fewer younger ones step in to take their places, this gives soccer clubs and leagues a new way to communicate with people.
Driving Video Game Sales
Not only that but esports help to create demand for the video game itself.
While FIFA (now EA Sports 24) commands a lot of attention anyway, ongoing competitions help to attract even more players and retain existing ones for longer.
With microtransactions a major source of revenue for video game publishers today, keeping gamers playing for longer allows a company to extract even more from them.
Nothing to Worry About
The numbers also shouldn’t concern anyone involved in physical soccer.
There may be a growing number of people interested in esports, but those 532 million viewers in 2022 were people with very diverse tastes.
Only a small proportion of them watched soccer esports games.
Compare this to the more than five billion people who consider themselves football fans, and you can see that esports have a long way to go to catch up.
