Competitive video gaming is the most exciting form of entertainment in the world and its popularity is soaring with each passing year. It has turned from a niche, geeky pursuit into a cultural phenomenon within a short space of time and its potential is boundless.
Gamers are already multimillionaires with huge fan bases, and they represent the superstars of tomorrow. If you are not one of the 454 million people around the world that watch esports, it is high time you rectified that. These are the reasons why you absolutely have to follow competitive gaming:
Video gaming is the future of entertainment
The video gaming industry was worth $131 billion in 2025 and GlobalData expects it to reach $300 billion by 2025. It already dwarfs the music industry and Hollywood, and it is simply pulling further away.
Video games have improved to such an extent over the past decade that the graphics are now stunning, the gameplay is intricate and the overall experience is wonderfully immersive.
You can explore big, open worlds in GTA and Red Dead Redemption, while the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 looks sensational. Keanu Reeves’ appearance in that game shows just how seriously Hollywood stars are taking the rise of video gaming.
You can enjoy superb basketball and soccer simulators, first-person shooters, real-time strategy games, multiplayer online battle arena titles, battle royales and much, more more.
We are living in an evolving, instantaneous and increasingly online world. Everyone is connected, all the time, and gaming brings people together in online communities.
Gaming is also becoming increasingly educational, as well as entertaining. The rise of technology has completely reshaped our everyday lives, from our business and work worlds all the way into our homes and our recreational time. Gaming is the future, and resistance is futile.
Esports showcases individual and collective brilliance
Competitive gaming allows fans to witness the finest players in the world battling for fame and fortune in high-stakes matches. The best esports have a high skill ceiling, so it is possible for talented, dedicated individuals to pull off outrageous feats of brilliance that others can only dream of.
As video gaming soars in popularity, it stands to reason that fans will be keen to watch the leading lights in action. Esports tournaments are becoming increasingly professional and organized, and it makes for a really engrossing viewing experience.
Traditional sports franchises understand esports’ popularity and its potential, and dozens have invested in teams of their own. This has helped esports permeate the mainstream.
There are a number of extremely high-profile tournaments taking place throughout the year: The International, the League of Legends World Championship, the CS:GO Majors, the Overwatch League, Fortnite World Cup, FIFA eWorld Cup, Six Invitational and so on. The stakes are high, the prize money is enormous and the tension is exhilarating, so you are always treated to displays of individual and collective brilliance, making esports extremely entertaining.
You could become rich
The five Dota 2 players that represent Team OG each took home $1.1 million after winning The International 2019. Bugha, a 16-year-old from Pennsylvania, won $3 million for surging to victory in the Fortnite World Cup in New York this summer.
League of Legends star Faker earns $2.5 million as a base salary and tops it up with prize money, sponsorships and endorsements. Ninja, a popular Fortnite streamer, made $1 million a month from commercial tie-ins with his Twitch channel before switching to a rival platform, Mixer. Microsoft apparently paid him $50 million to make the switch.
Esports and video gaming in general can make you extremely wealthy. If you watch competitive gaming tournaments and gain a strong understanding of the scene, you can plot your own path to fame and fortune.
Nobody can resist the upward march of competitive gaming
The list of celebrities, traditional sports stars and entrepreneurs investing in the esports sector is too long to detail in full. Michael Jordan, Drake, Jennifer Lopez, Mark Cuban, Steph Curry, Snoop Dogg, Ashton Kutcher and Will Smith are just some of the famous names that have grabbed a considerable stake in this fast-growing industry.
Traditional sports teams are trying to gain first mover advantage, as they have seen the writing on the wall. Esports will usurp all traditional sports by 2050, according to many experts, and these franchises want to be a part of the future.
Major companies like Intel, MasterCard and Coca-Cola all sponsor esports. ESPN, ABC and Disney show tournaments live on TV, while Amazon, Google and Microsoft battle to have the number one streaming platform.
Esports betting is huge, tipped to rise to a $13 billion global handle by 2020. Check out latest esports betting odds and you will see a huge range of tournaments and markets being offered.
There is always something to watch, as esports is not weather dependent. Fans pack into stadiums to watch the big tournaments unfold, and millions more steam the action live.
The upward march of competitive gaming cannot be stopped, and it is time for you to see what all the fuss is about. The best esports are easily accessible, and you can quickly follow what is going on. You will then be blown away by the skill involved when top teams meet
It is constantly improving
Technology is improving all the time and video game developers are firmly at the forefront of these changes. Graphics are constantly improving, the gameplay is becoming more thrilling and more realistic, and the stories these games tell are often worthy of an Oscar-winning film, but the whole experience is so much more immersive and adaptable.
There is a thrilling level of competition in the industry, spurring rival studios on to outdo one another with increasingly impressive new releases. Existing games are constantly refined and updated to keep the gameplay fresh and improve the offering, making the esports scene extremely dynamic.
Meanwhile, the way we consume media is constantly evolving. The technology is growing increasingly powerful, but the hardware is becoming smaller and more convenient all the time.
The rise of AR and VR technology, plus cloud-based gaming, will only accelerate the gaming industry’s upward march. There is no other entertainment medium that can match it for dynamic, vibrancy and excitement, and that will help it conquer the world.