The dynamics of the esports industry are bringing a variety of different games to the market. Some of them are currently developing particularly well. We show you which ones they are.
We’ve been competing against computers in graphics-based computer games since the 1950s. Since 1972, we have held tournaments in which we compare ourselves with other players. The emergence of esports was a long process that is still growing today.
In the process, many different titles have become part of the competition. Some stand out in particular and have shaped the scene to this day. These include above all shooters like Quake and Counter-Strike, MOBAs like League of Legends and Dota, and RTS games like Warcraft and Starcraft. Fighting games such as Street Fighter and Co. were also popular.
The esports scene, however, is characterised above all by its strong dynamics, and so games are always leaving the stage and new ones are arriving. In this article, we show you in which direction the current developments are going and which trends there are to watch out for.
Is Battle Royale still salvageable?
While the Battle Royale genre attracts a lot of players and also provides a lot of viewers on Twitch, it still has its problems in esports. Long periods without action and a huge, confusing map cause logistical problems that are very difficult to resolve.
Alongside last year’s two Battle Royale favourites, Fortnite and Warzone, a hot competitor, Apex Legends, continues to catch up. On average, the game has more than one million concurrent players. Fortnite is at almost four million while Warzone has slipped to a meagre 300,000. Apex is still a very young game and at this point has only gone through its first year of Esport. In June, 170 teams competed for three million dollars in prize money at the Apex Legends Global Series. Now the second season is already in the starting blocks.
Here, we could finally expect offline events again, which could add an extra touch to the competitions. The total prize money has also been raised to a whopping five million dollars.
Despite the positive developments, however, Respawn and EA’s focus does not seem to be on the esports sector. Rather, the developers want to make the game more accessible to the casual gamer and target where they can make the most money.
Unfortunately, this orientation also means neglecting the competitive structures. Professionals, for example, have already complained several times on social media about the lack of consideration, but have indicated that they will continue to give their best under the changed conditions.
Us Pros need to understand and im also completely guilty of this is that these patch notes will 90% of the time not cater to us at all. Reason is because we aren't the money makers for them, we are just Pros that are meant to play what is given to us and of course we will be 1/2
— TSMFTX ImperialHal (@TSM_ImperialHal) August 3, 2021
The game holds a lot of potential and many different game formats are possible. Especially national leagues could be a good option here. In addition, the arena mode offers the possibility to test oneself in other ways besides battle royale. One can only hope that the developers don’t miss this opportunity to establish Apex Legends in the esports scene in the long term.
The Mobile Trend
In addition to Esport competitions on the PC or console, there is another area of competitive gaming today, mobile gaming. In Latin America and India, the mobile battle royale “Garena Free Fire” is particularly popular, while in Europe and Asia, games like Clash Royale, Mobile Legends and Wild Rift are among the best-known representatives.
The rise of this industry is not least due to the fact that nowadays almost everyone owns a mobile device and thus, over time, also comes across some games in the App Store and discovers them for themselves. Moreover, one can save oneself the expensive console or gaming PC and simply gamble on the touch screen of one’s smartphone or tablet.
Since 2016, a wide variety of mobile games have been released, bringing with them the potential for their own esports scene. Based on these, a wide variety of competitions are now held, including for example the Clash Royale League, the PUBG Mobile National Championships or the Wild Rift World Championship, which will follow this September.
More and more esports teams see the potential and growth of this industry and are expanding their structures by taking on professional mobile gamers as well as content creators from this sector. In Asia and India, the market is already much further along and larger. In all likelihood, this trend will also spread to the European and American regions in the future.
Pokémon-MOBA with a lot of potential
With the recently released new Pokémon game “Pokémon Unite”, Nintendo and Tencent are venturing into the world of MOBAs. In the first few weeks after its release, the game has already attracted many fans and had a rock-solid release.
The game is based on the concepts of well-known MOBAs and offers a good foundation for competitive battles. You compete against each other in five-on-five on various maps and have to collect points by killing Minions or enemy Pokémon, which you then hand in in the so-called Goal Zones. In the end, the team with the most points wins.
Only the items are different from those in other games, because they are not bought bit by bit during the game, but are selected before the game starts. In addition, these items can be upgraded to increase the bonuses. This can also be done with in-game currency, which you can buy with real money.
This is the so-called pay-to-win, because you can buy an unfair advantage over other players. This has already caused a lot of uproar in the community, because it is a disaster for fair competition. In order for Pokémon Unite to function as an esport, this problem definitely needs to be addressed in the future.
In addition, the exclusive release for Switch and mobile denies the game a lot of potential. MOBA fans are mainly on the PC, and that’s exactly where Pokémon Unite needs to go in the future. If the developers manage to offer the game the right platform, then Pokémon Unite can definitely become a big Esport hit.
Trackmania on a good path
In addition to the aforementioned games that are currently trending, there is another noteworthy title that has what it takes to make its mark in esports in the future.
The racing game Trackmania, driven by many German streamers, is currently gaining a foothold in the DACH region and is also very popular in France. Developer Nadeo and the community regularly work on new formats and ensure interesting competitions.
PRIZE MONEY IN TRACKMANIA
2006: $72,000
2007: $23,000
2008: $30,000
2009: $36,000
2010: $44,000
2011: $41,000
2012: $31,000
2013: $15,000
2014: $18,000
2015: $25,000
2016: $12,000
2017: $13,000
2018: $27,000
2019: $54,000
2020: $100,0002021 so far: $67,972#Trackmania
— Eirik Holdal #Trackmania (@EirikHoldal) August 12, 2021
In tournaments like the Trackmania Grand League or the Formula League, many professionals already compete against each other. The prize money development also shows that Trackmania is currently at an all-time high and could probably set another good mark this year.
It is clear that esports will continue to develop in the coming years and new titles will be added to the already broad spectrum. Now it is up to the developers and publishers to integrate their games into the existing structures in the best possible way.
