eSports
The Game Awards 2023: The Rise of eSports from Start to Finish
The rise of eSports
In the ever-evolving landscape of entertainment, few industries have witnessed a meteoric rise quite like eSports. What once started as a niche in the gaming world has now grown into a global sensation, captivating both amateur and professional players with its competitive events, life-changing cash prizes, and viewership figures in the hundreds of millions. Domain and hosting experts Fasthosts has compiled a brief overview of the rise of eSports, and competitive gaming throughout the years, and where the future may take the industry.
The Start of Competitive Gaming
eSports, at its core, revolves around competitive video gaming, and has experienced exponential growth over the past five decades. The earliest known gaming competition stems back to 1972, when Stanford University hosted a contest featuring the science fiction rocket game ‘Spacewar’. The event – orchestrated by sports reporter Stewart Brand – showcased the potential of video games as an “exhilarating spectator sport”, setting the stage for what was to come.
The Slow but Steady Rise
For several decades, the popularity of eSports experienced a gradual rise. In the pre-internet era, arcade tournaments provided the battleground for players, with magazines and record books recognising top players’ achievements. The 1990s marked a turning point as gaming tournaments began to gain traction, offering increasingly substantial prize pools. The technological advancements in video game consoles, and internet and PC gaming paved the way for a prosperous decade for the industry. At the end of the 90s we saw the internet cafe boom where young players would meet and play together in PC cafes, which was the start of the strong youth social gaming culture you see today.
The New Millennium
It was the early 2000s that witnessed the true birth of eSports as leagues and tournaments started to take shape around iconic titles like Counter-Strike, StarCraft, and Warcraft III. In 2001, the first World Cyber Games was held in Seoul. The tournament featured several popular games and attracted over 174,000 participants from 17 countries, making for an unexpected global success. In 2005, the CPL World Tour or Cyberathlete Professional League became the first event to have a prize pool offering over $1 million, demonstrating the start of life changing prizes that go hand in hand with competitive gaming.
Streaming Platforms: The Catalyst for Growth
From 2010 onwards, the world witnessed the revolutionary impact of online streaming platforms like Twitch.tv and Youtube Gaming, leading to skyrocketing eSports viewership figures. When Twitch launched, the ‘League of Legends’ world championship viewership figures went from 1.7 million in 2011 to 8.2 million in 2012, and to 32 million in 2013.
These streaming platforms connected fans worldwide, allowing them to tune into live events from home. The large viewing figures, advertising, and sponsorship opportunities led to investors starting their own teams, and household game developers creating leagues and tournaments. It became standard for eSports events to attract millions of viewers, and the landscape of competitive gaming had been transformed.
The Summit
In 2015, eSports reached a defining moment with The International 2015: Dota 2 Championships. The prize pool offered a staggering $18 million, breaking records and solidifying eSports’ place on the global stage. This marked a monumental shift, proving that tournaments could rival traditional sports events in terms of both prize money and profitability.
The New Decade: eSports Takes Centre Stage
As the calendar turned to the 2020s, eSports entered a new era. The decade began with some of the largest tournaments in history, attracting millions of spectators and providing the largest prize pools seen to date such as The 2021 International Dota 2 Championships which took place in Bucharest Romania, offering a $40,018,400.00 prize pool – the largest prize at the time.
By 2020, it had become increasingly common to see the term “professional eSports player” conceptualising the individuals dedicating their lives to competitive gaming, undergoing strict routines and training in the unique journey of becoming the world’s next best gaming athlete.
The Future
At present, the most-viewed tournaments are impressive spectacles in their own right, with titles like ‘Free Fire World Series’, ‘League of Legends’, and ‘Mobile Legends: Bang Bang’ drawing millions of viewers. Looking to the future, in August 2023, Saudi Arabian tournament organiser Gamers8 ran their ‘The Land of Heroes’ tournament with a colossal prize of $45 million dollars, a figure that we will see constantly being pushed higher in tournaments in following years. And according to BeyonGames.biz, the eSports market is estimated to grow at 21.81% between 2022 and 2027, with the size of the market expected to increase by $3,515.1 million.
The journey of competitive gaming from its humble beginnings to its current global standing is a testament to its enduring appeal and cultural impact. With its exhilarating competition and substantial rewards, eSports has become a true force in the entertainment world. As the industry continues to innovate and evolve, one thing remains clear: this isn’t just a passing trend. It’s a phenomenon that has permanently transformed the way we engage with and celebrate competitive gaming.
The company advances the betting experience for esports fans
DATA.BET, a leading esports betting provider, releases Bet Builder, designed to create highly customized compound bets within a single match, offering a thrilling experience for professional bettors and avid esports enthusiasts.
Unlike traditional express bets, which span across multiple events, Bet Builder operates within a single event. It allows players to tailor their bets with flexibility, making it ideal for skillful users who deeply understand the game and seek a more personalized and strategic betting experience. With Bet Builder, users can bet on a wide range of markets within a single event, freely combining their selections without any restrictions.
In addition to its powerful functionality, this product is versatile in its integration. It can be seamlessly connected to any platform via API, allowing operators to offer this premium feature without technical limitations.
The novelty is already available for Counter-Strike 2 and will soon expand to cover other popular esports titles such as Valorant, League of Legends, and other disciplines.
“Our Bet Builder is a game-changer in the esports betting landscape,” said Rostyslav Likhtin, Head of Product at DATA.BET. “We’ve developed a sophisticated mathematical model that allows us to offer this feature on compound events without compromising on profitability. Beyond providing a unique experience that boosts engagement rates, loyalty, and expands the user base, it also significantly increases the operator’s turnover from the existing audience. Additionally, Bet Builder helps attract new players who are eager to explore combined bets on popular sports, allowing them to become more familiar with these disciplines.”
The post DATA.BET Launches Esports Bet Builder appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
BETBY, a leading provider of premium sportsbook solutions, has announced the addition of eStreetball to its BETBY Games esports content portfolio, further enhancing its impressive lineup of e-simulator sports. BETBY Games now features nine different sports, hosting over 50 tournaments across various disciplines.
The newly introduced eStreetball title brings players the excitement of three unique tournaments: NBA All-Star, NBA All-Classic, and CBA All-Star. Combining state-of-the-art graphics with extensive betting options, the game delivers an exhilarating and immersive experience for esports enthusiasts.
Each eStreetball match offers rapid gameplay, with games concluding in just seven minutes. For an enhanced betting experience, the game provides more than 10 betting markets, including options like winner, total points, home total, away total, handicap, odd/even, and race to points. This latest addition follows a series of recent updates to BETBY Games’ esports portfolio, showcasing the company’s commitment to delivering innovative and engaging content for its partners.
Kirill Nekrasov, Head of BETBY Games, commented: “We were thrilled with the success of our recent Classic eBasketball release, which motivated us to accelerate the launch of new content for this game. We’ve now introduced another basketball-based sport, and I’m confident it will resonate with both casual players who enjoy quick bets and instant outcomes, as well as esports enthusiasts who are always eager for new disciplines.
He added that: “We are continually striving to innovate and enhance our offerings, aiming to provide the best possible esports experience for our partners and their players. The introduction of Streetball to BETBY Games’ e-simulator portfolio reflects our dedication to the esports sector. By delivering top-tier content, we empower our partners to differentiate themselves in the market while keeping players engaged, particularly during periods when live sports events may be limited.”
The post BETBY EXPANDS ESPORTS PORTFOLIO WITH LAUNCH OF eSTREETBALL appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Operator adds 24/7 sport simulation content to offering
SIS (Sports Information Services), the leading content supplier of 24/7 live betting services, has launched its Competitive Gaming product with Superbet in Europe and South America through the Genius Sports platform.
The complete suite of H2H Global Gaming League™ eSoccer and eBasketball matches, numbering over 150,000 events per year, is now live with the Romanian operator. Superbet will benefit from the increase in wagering opportunities provided by the event-based product, which is proven to maximise engagement and margin for operators.
Since its launch in 2008, Superbet has established a strong presence across the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region, becoming a leading operator in Romania, Belgium, Poland and Serbia. The operator offers a diverse sportsbook, presenting constantly evolving sports betting opportunities to its customers.
Competitive Gaming’s H2H Global Gaming League™ sees highly skilled professional gamers take part in short-form eBasketball and eSoccer matches. The contests are produced entirely in-house in the UK and include tools and features to enhance the customer experience.
It is the only esports product available on the market to have been awarded the Esports Integrity Commission’s (ESIC) Gold Standards, the highest possible accreditation created to set unmatched levels of integrity and safety in the industry, with trained referees overseeing every contest.
Launching Competitive Gaming with Superbet reaffirms SIS’ reputation as a global supplier of value-adding, round-the-clock content.
Andrew Kelly, Head of Commercial Partnerships at SIS, said: “The partnership with Superbet is the latest operator agreement as we strive to widen the reach of our Competitive Gaming portfolio, leveraging our recent platform partnership with Genius Sports.
“Superbet has an impressive footprint and we look forward to bringing our revolutionary product to bettors throughout this entire region.”
Ivan Gojic, Head of Trading Product at Superbet Group, added: “Superbet has established a reputation of being a champion of the sports betting industry across the CEE region, due to the unique and immersive experience that we offer to our customers. We are always looking at ways to improve the quality of this experience and enhance the array of wagering opportunities that we provide.
“SIS’ Competitive Gaming is a proven product with increased quality and variety in terms of content, and we are excited to add it to our offering.”
The post SIS goes live with Superbet to strengthen esports product profile in Romania appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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