A Future for eSports

In almost every conversation I’ve had in the last few months, whether it’s been with industry partners, clients, or a casual chat with a colleague, one topic inevitably always comes up as a question to me. eSports. The scope of the conversation and the opinions shared are always different, but when it comes to the question of ‘what’s next for eSports?’, people seem to turn quiet. It’s clear that eSports is on the road to great things, but what those great things are and what twists and turns lie on that road is unclear at the moment.

eSports has been around almost as long as the gaming industry itself. I remember taking part in amateur and DIY tournaments in the 80s, loving the feeling of achievement of competing and asking myself why more people didn’t know about this exciting world. Even today, I can’t help but feel the same way I did as a kid, thinking about why the world of eSports isn’t so much bigger than it currently is. And why is that?

For the most part, I don’t believe we’ve implemented the proper infrastructure yet. eSports, as we know it, is largely built around single games – not on the concept of eSports itself. In effect, it’s being utilized as a marketing tool to help promote individual games.

While this does add value for players and is hugely entertaining in its own right; it’s hard not to feel that a real contribution to the world of eSports at large is somewhat lacking. I think we’re missing a huge opportunity there. We only need to look to last year when 16 year old Kyle Giersdorf won $3 million for placing first in the Fortnite World Cup. The win undoubtedly changed Giersdorf’s life and made a huge buzz around the game while it was in the news cycle, but beyond this, it’s difficult to analyse what lasting benefit, if any, there was for the game’s community or the larger world of eSports. Success stories like these are exciting in those rate times they occur, but without a strong and strategic follow-up, they just become pleasant white noise.

Of course, some publishers and some professional leagues are doing well in their efforts. Valve, Riot Games, and Blizzard all do an amazing job of hosting and promoting leagues with great impact, but other than that it’s all pretty quiet on the world stage. And almost nothing is heard of amateur leagues outside of grassroots communities. Not enough noise is being made around them, or the noise that is being made isn’t loud enough to be heard.

To give eSports that place on the world stage, we need to separate it from individual entities, divorce it from the concept of being an ‘added bonus’ for fans of a particular game or genre, and give it the breathing space to become a global entity in its own right – just like the NBA, the NFL, and the countless European soccer leagues piping into our homes, bars, and radios every day.

A Future for the Industry

As an industry we need to invest in eSports. We need to make personal emotional investments in seeing the industry grow outside of the games we make and work on. In essence, help develop something that should be bigger than the sum of its constituent parts.

How do we do this?

Events and tournaments are a great place to start. There are countess amateur and indie tournaments out there all over the world that are run on nothing more than the love of the game, bolstered by the players’ hunger for competition and aspiration of someday becoming a pro. These competitions attract impressive audiences considering their humble budget and scale. Partly for the games they host, but also for the players, and most definitely for the sense of community they create. But what if we did more to nurture their growth?

More investment in eSports from games industry bodies, developers, and publishers would make a seismic difference to the current playing field. Selecting partners that resonate with brand and company values and allowing them some scope to integrate with games for seasonal tournament creation would not only allow the sport itself to grow, it would give the community at large a chance to flock to leagues that truly offer something special. For a start, we would at the very least see:

·        Game lifecycles increased

·        Spread and community growth for games actively participating in established leagues

·        Investment and infrastructure for amateur players to turn professional

·        The birth of more professional gaming teams

·        A raised profile for both professional and amateur leagues who can in turn develop their own offering and help elevate eSports to the mainstream

In creating opportunities for those who are already putting the work into building and creating an outlet for eSports, we create a chance for growth on every level. The more freedom to breathe and evolve these leagues and promotional bodies get, the more chance they have of becoming sustainable in their own right. Not relying on a single game or a single sponsorship to keep afloat. Not seen as just one rung in a larger, separate marketing strategy. Becoming self-reliant, independent entertainment outlets for gaming audiences worldwide thirsty for exactly this kind of content.

By the same token, working to provide this level of value for an audience is key in taking eSports to the next level. We need to take their participation and takeaway into account also. We simply can’t underestimate the role fans and community should have in any sports entity. Professional ‘real world’ sports live and die on fan participation and involvement. Until we include a space for them in the formula, we are essentially broadcasting into the ether. By helping instil a sense of value and ownership over their viewing experience, we boost tournament, league, and team buy-in. Or to put it more simply, one can’t be a fan until they have something to be a fan of. This is where the work to be done lies.

A Future for the Players

Player development is possibly the biggest missed opportunity of all. Look at other established sports, the top athletes make millions, earn millions more for their teams and sponsors, and become global icons and role models for kids the world over. But players don’t become icons by accident. They are scouted by teams at a very young age and signed to extremely exclusive training camps – they are groomed for success. Before that, take part in little leagues, inter-schools leagues, and summer sports camps. Without multi-level infrastructure like this, there would be no Lionel Messi, no Serena Williams, and no Tom Brady.

Just think of the level of skill and competence players like Kyle Giersdorf could currently be bringing to the table if they had the same supports in their gaming careers that other sports offer. Valuable infrastructures like these do more than help players hone in-game skills, they help mould the mindset of a competitive professional. They help prepare them on a competitive level for high-stress tournament situations, sharpening their competitive experience in real-world scenarios they aren’t usually exposed to in individual or casual play – an edge that can be the difference between thriving under pressure and stumbling at the starting blocks. On an emotional level too, they prepare players for dealing with the out-game impact acclaim and success can have on mental health.

Right now, we have individual gamers just trying to figure that path out for themselves. Some eSports teams even resort to asking their own players if they know anyone who might be good enough to turn pro. It doesn’t work like that. People flock to the NBA because it has players that can run faster, jump higher, and shoot further than anyone else out there. If gaming tournaments can’t offer that same level of exceptional performance, audiences won’t engage – they’d have no reason to.

We need to develop the infrastructure to scout for players, help them develop, and train them both as players and as sporting personalities. If we want the next Lionel Messi for eSports, we need to show them how to get there and help hone their talent carefully.

Creating Value Together

This road is a collaborative one. Well-structured, worldwide leagues and championships don’t spring up overnight. And a continued isolationist string of one-off tournaments and promotional exercises will only further segment things. To help eSports truly flourish, we need to work together.

We need to build the overall package of eSports so it can stand up to any other sporting league out there. Immaculate venues with impeccable sound and lighting, players and teams with a real following, and leagues operating and promoting themselves independently. We need to do more too to utilize the power of streaming platforms and reach gaming audiences where they are already active. By leveraging the power of influencers and personalities already active in the industry, we can inject more value for the viewer in the overall media package. Installing more top tier players and hosts to run live game interpretation and analysis (much in the same vein as what Joe Rogan has done in his work with the MMA), we develop a full entertainment suite for viewers. While this is currently being done to some effect, an improvement in consistency and scale, I believe, would escalate the experience exponentially. Other sports offer pre- and post-game programming that can sometimes span entire afternoons for a game lasting only 90 minutes. Until we can offer that same kind of consumer package for eSports, we are trailing behind.

This isn’t asking a huge amount when you think about it, just the standard spectators have come to expect from any other sport they watch on television. But to get there, we need to put in the ground-work now. Everyone has a part to play in the future of eSports, and once we unite these elements and skillsets from all sides, we will see something incredible happen.