Competitive esports is a thriving industry. Millions of fans from all over the globe tune in to live broadcasts to watch their favorite players compete in gaming tournaments. Brands and developers are also eager to jump on the hype train and get their slice of the esports pie. With that, it’s easy to forget that not every game can be competitive, so we’re bringing you a guide to highlight exactly what it takes for titles to become live esports games!
If you’re wondering what stands at the root of all esports games, it’s first-person shooters (FPS). Long ago, games like Doom, Quake, and Unreal Tournament glued thousands of viewers to their screens with fast-paced action and spectacular gunplay. Even now, first-person shooters are one of the most prominent esports game types, and titles like Overwatch, Call of Duty, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive are immensely popular among the fans.
At one point, the FPS genre was challenged by real-time strategies (RTS). Games like StarCraft: Brood War, Warcraft 3, and StarCraft 2 took the competitive esports scene by storm by allowing players to command vast armies and build their own empires.
Their reign was short-lived, though, and most RTS esports games were overtaken by multiplayer battle arena games (MOBAs). Titles like Dota 2, League of Legends, and Heroes of the Storm still contain strategy elements while borrowing a few pages from roleplaying games. With that, MOBAs are much easier to get into than RTS titles. And their infinite complexity made them into some of the biggest esports games in the world.
However, even MOBAs had to take a step back before the influx of battle royale (BR). Competitive esports games like H1Z1: King of the Hill, PlayerUnknown’s Battleground, and Fortnite quickly rose to prominence thanks to their intuitive action-packed gameplay and exciting survival-based premise.
Now, this is just scratching the surface of the top esports games. At different points, fighting games, sports simulators, card competitions, and massive multiplayer online titles have all had their time in the limelight. And if you were to conduct the best esports game vote, no two players would answer it the same way.
So if the best esports game vote would be so inconclusive, what does it take for a title to become competitive? Well, it depends. The most obvious answer is that all esports games have to reward skill. For instance, it would be difficult to distinguish a bad roulette player from a good one since luck is a huge factor in that particular type of entertainment. But competitive esports games are all about highlighting the differences in reaction time, game knowledge, and mechanical prowess, which is a huge reason why they’re so fun to watch.
Speaking of watching, another key part of esports is viewing experience. A gaming title can be insanely difficult to master, but no one is going to pay any attention to it if the action is too hectic to follow. After all, viewers want to be able to make out what’s happening on the screen of their favorite esport game.
But the biggest factor would be popularity. Even the most exciting competitive title could go unnoticed if it doesn’t have a big player base or a sizeable following to back it up. And all esports games need a good amount of players and viewers to succeed.
Let’s say your title made it and became an esport game. Now, where can you watch it? In the past, your one-stop shop for the best esports game action would have to be Twitch. Once known as Justin.tv, this platform took over the scene by letting gamers from all over the world live steam their gameplay. Naturally, this turned it into the go-to place for the biggest esports games and tournament organizers. This dynamic also made the platform rise to the forefront of live streaming, and Twitch is currently one of the biggest sources of gaming broadcasting in the world.
But it’s far from your only option to follow the best esports game footage. Nowadays, platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Dailymotion have also introduced live streaming services. And while they’re not as popular as Twitch among gamers, they’re still used by thousands of viewers to catch up with the biggest esports games.
We’ve said this before, but it’s hard to find out the most popular titles from the best esports game vote because so many competitive games have huge followings. And this makes them perfect for live betting. Live betting (or in-play betting) is a way to use combine your game knowledge and split-second decision-making to place smart wagers on esports matches that are currently being played.
Still, even the best esports game might not be suited for in-play betting. Some titles are too volatile while others don’t have enough regular tournaments to satisfy esports punters. With that, you want a game like League of Legends that has a constant stream of events and a vast competitive scene.
The same could be said about Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Overwatch, although in-play betting on the latter title will largely depend on the schedule of its biggest competition, the Overwatch League. Finally, Dota 2 is another game that provides countless live betting opportunities with exciting clashes between teams from all over the globe.
Final Thoughts on Esports Games
There’s a lot that goes into a great esports game. Whether it’s showing off player skill, providing a great viewing experience, or building up a huge player base, competitive games have many ways of attracting fans and viewers. And in the end, no best esports game vote will be able to tell you which titles are destined for glory.
