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Over the last few years, the eSports industry has become an international success inspiring tournaments, streams and competition all around the world. By offering thrills and spectacle to audiences as well as chances for gaming enthusiasts to come together over a shared love, the video game-centric sport has managed to turn gaming from a heavily stereotyped, outsider activity to a globally celebrated pasttime.
While the players and viewers are undeniably essential when it comes to eSports’ success, it is the games that have the most impact. After all, without the games there would be absolutely nothing. Today, we thought we’d take a look at the types of games that have become staples in every eSports arena and explore why they have gained so much attention.
First Person Shooters (FPS)
First and foremost, we have one of the leading eSports genres that to this day remains at the heart of competitive gaming: FPS. Whether it’s legendary releases such as Quake or Counter-Strike or modern titans like Halo and Call of Duty, FPS games are forever tied to eSports. In 2017 alone, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) was the second most lucrative eSports title, appearing in 893 official tournaments with a collective prize pool of $19,242,958. The PGL Major in Krakow last year, where CS:GO was the main game, was watched by over 40 million people.
It’s easy to understand why FPS games are so popular on the circuit. As every seasoned gamer will know, every FPS requires strategy – making them incredibly interesting to play and view. Whether you’re playing a strategy board game like Risk or have found a new favorite online strategy games developer like Plarium, the brand behind Stormfall and Vikings, we simply can’t get enough of using intricate tactics to defeat our enemies, in whatever form they come. It’s human nature that we want to be inspired by skill and intellect and FPS titles allow us to do this whether we’re playing ourselves or watching others.
Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas (MOBA)
As eSports has grown, so too has the popularity of MOBA games. Now, it is titles such as League of Legends and DotA 2 that appear to forging a path for eSports, attracting considerable viewership, engagement and prize pools. The DotA 2 International is the largest eSports tournament of all time, with over 92 million viewers watching the 2017 competition. During the finals, an incredible 11 million people were watching around the world and the prize pool reached $24,687,919.
The fact MOBA games are so popular is baffling to some as the idea of watching virtual characters milling about seems at worst boring and at best highly confusing to some. Still, it’s impossible to argue with their popularity and there’s a good chance LoL and DotA 2 will remain the leading eSports titles for years to come.
Without a doubt, FPS and MOBA titles are the most popular gaming genres for eSports, drawing millions of people to watch. As eSports grows in popularity it’s possible that other genres may receive their own tournaments. In fact we picture a world where every good game gets its own competition.