The impact of Esports in today's world.

The impact of esports, For the uninitiated, it's short for esports and refers to video games that are played competitively by professionals. This has become a massive phenomenon in the modern world, with millions and millions of prize winners and professional gaming superstars getting endorsement deals and similar benefits just like real athletes.

But it was not always like this. Esports was once a very specific pursuit, but it has grown and gained momentum over the years. Firstly, let's take a nostalgia hit and take a look at the origins of esports, before moving on to assess how big professional gaming has become of late, which is why this article is about The impact of esports.

Invaders, in a word. This is where it really all started in the nineties. Sure, for as long as video games have been around, there's always been competition, but we're not talking about trying to get the highest score in Space Invaders as seen at Atari's 1980 event, whose national finals featured over 10,000 gamers from all over the world. everyone. United States, and was won by Bill Heineman.

Yes, this was certainly an impressive milestone in competitive gaming, but we argue that it's not professional gaming. These players weren't going head-to-head as such, but were competing against a high score and, furthermore, there were no big prizes. In those days, a grand prix of $ 40,000 seems like a pretty small affair. In fact, the esports scene has matured, so now it's not just about prize money, but professional gamers with full salary.

For example, in the Overwatch League, the professional arena for Blizzard's team-based shooter, players must receive a minimum base salary of $50,000 and bonus money for winning. The latter meant that in the first season, the top two players from the winning franchise, London Spitfire, each earned $ 195,000. What makes us see clearly The impact of esports. 

Other popular esports games include Heroes of the Storm (another MOBA) and battle royale extravaganzas Fortnite and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. Also, we shouldn't forget StarCraft II, the classic RTS that is still going strong and is played competitively for big bucks today.

And Hearthstone, Blizzard's online card game, a turn-based think-athon that's very different from the company that maintains it in the upper echelons of esports, and also illustrates the progressive diversity present on the competitive gaming field, compared to the first days. Keep in mind that even the likes of Farming Simulator have made the transition to esports recently. If that doesn't show The impact of esports, I don't know what will.

Of course, the success of these games in terms of reaching a large audience of enthusiastic esports viewers is fueled by major leagues and organizations that are hosting large-scale tournaments with huge prize pools for the winners.

The Dota 2 International Championship, hosted by game developer Valve, offers colossal winning potential, with last year's prize pool topping $ 25 million. The players on the triumphant team – Team OG – walked away with over $ 2 million. What really sets The impact of esports.