In our continuing series on Esports, we dig into the three major game genres, MOBA (multiplayer battler arenas), Sports, FPS (first person shooters), the game, objectives, events, prize pools, players and team owners, some of whom are sports celebrities like Alex Rodriguez and Shaquille O’Neal. Many Esport team owners are also involved with the ownership of National Football League (NFL) and National Basketball Association (NBA) teams. Formula 1 even created its own league, in which real world pro race car drivers competed in television simulations.
This photograph taken on November 25, 2019, shows member of the esport team Vitality, Jarno Opmeer ... [+]
Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA)
MOBAs are 3v3 or 5v5 games in which players win by completing an objective before the other team. In these games, a variety of characters can be played, each having a different ability for certain roles or lane control.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 7 : Anl "HolyPhoenix" Ik playing at the game stage during the 2019 ... [+]
League of Legends
Publisher(s): Riot Games, Garena
Objective: Destroy the opponents’ Nexus by advancing through turrets, inhibitors, and the enemy team.
Recent/Upcoming events: League of Legends Championship Series (LCS)
Most recent and total prize pools: $200,000 / $77,616,583.58
Major Teams/Orgs and Owners: Cloud9 (Jack and Paullie Etienne), 100 Thieves (Matthew "Nadeshot" Haag, Scooter Braun, Drake, Dan Gilbert), Counter Logic Gaming (Madison Square Garden Company), Dignitas (Joshua Harris and David S. Blitzer)
SHANGHAI, CHINA - AUGUST 25: A general view of the awarding ceremony of the International 2019 Dota ... [+]
Dota 2
Publisher(s): Valve Corporation
Objective: Destroy the opponents’ “Ancient Structure” in the stronghold, which is protected by towers, whilst defending your own.
Recent/Upcoming events: DreamLeague Season 13
Most recent and total prize pools: $1,000,000 / $226,732,152
Major Teams/Orgs and Owners: Evil Geniuses (PEAK6 Investments), Team Secret (Clement “Puppey” Ivanov and Matthew “Cyborgmatt” Bailey), OG (Tal "Fly" Aizik, Johan "N0tail" Sundstein, David "MoonMeander" Tan, Amer "Miracle-" Al-Barkawi, and Andreas "Cr1t-" Nielsen)
ATLANTA, GA - NOVEMBER 17: Matthew Murray of Enterprise, AL. plays a game called Smite during ... [+]
Smite
Publisher(s): Hi-Rez Studios, Tencent
Objective: Work together with your team [playing as Gods and Goddesses] to destroy the other opponent’s Titan.
Recent/Upcoming events: SMITE World Championship 2020 Main Event
Most recent and total prize pools: $1,000,000 / $8,640,112.75
Major Teams/Orgs and Owners: SK Gaming (Alexander Müller-Rodic, Andreas Thorstensson and Ralf Reichert), Team RivaL (Ghost Gaming), Dignitas
The stage is set for the Chinese team to battle against Taiwan at the eSports "Arena of Valor" ... [+]
Arena of Valor
Publisher(s): Tencent, Garena, Netmarble, DeNA
Objective: Destroy enemy turrets on the map to reach and destroy the enemy core.
Recent/Upcoming events: Arena of Valor Premier League 2020
Most recent and total prize pools: $350,000 / $14,906,095.63
Major Teams/Orgs and Owners: Flash Wolves, Buriram United Esports (Buriram United Football Club), Hong Kong Attitude (Hong Kong Esports)
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 28: Fury and Gesture of the London Spitfire Team celebrate onstage after ... [+]
Sport games
Sport games are digital recreations of “traditional” sports. In most games, the objective is similar to its real-life counterpart though in the digital space the games emphasize strategy and sport management. Sport games can emulate real-life or alter the way of the game with new physics or twists on the “traditional” sport in a team or solo format. Most of these games release a new edition every year and the players follow [ex: FIFA 2019 to FIFA 2020].
Rocket League
Publisher(s): Psyonix
Objective: Rocket League is a combination of racing and soccer [“soccer with cars”]. Players work with their team [or solo] to hit a ball down the field with their car, scoring goals on the other teams’ net.
Recent/Upcoming events: Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) Season 8 - Finals
Most recent and total prize pools: $529,500 / $9,105,504.89
Major Teams/Orgs and Owners: NRG Esports (Mark Mastrov, Andy Miller, Alex Rodriguez, Shaquille O'Neal and Jimmy Rollins), Dignitas, Spacestation Gaming (Shaun McBride), Renault Vitality (Team Vitality and Renault Sport)
Brendan Donohue, managing director of the new NBA 2K esports league, top row center, poses for ... [+]
NBA 2K
Publisher(s): Sega Sports (1999-2004), 2K Sports (2005-present)
Objective: NBA 2K is a basketball simulator game which follows the same rules as real-life basketball. Score points against your opponent by shooting the basketball into the net.
Recent/Upcoming events: NBA 2K League
Most recent and total prize pools: $1,000,000 / ~$5,000,000 or more
Major Teams/Orgs and Owners: 22 of the 30 NBA teams own a NBA 2K League team. For example, the Los Angeles Lakers own Lakers Gaming. The only non-NBA team in the league is Gen. G (Kevin Chou, Kent Wakeford)
Madden
Publisher(s): EA Sports, THQ, Black Pearl Software, Malibu Games, Hudson Soft
Objective: Madden is an American football simulator game which follows the same rules as real-life American football. Score points against your opponent by making touchdowns and field goals.
Recent/Upcoming events: EA SPORTS Madden NFL 21 Club Championship
Most recent and total prize pools: $750,000 / ~$5,000,000 or more
Major Teams/Orgs and Owners: CompLexity Gaming (Jerry Jones, John Goff), Daniel “DCROFT” Mycroft (Seattle Seahawks), XSet Gaming (Greg Selkoe, Wil Eddins, Clinton Sparks, and Marco Mereu)
MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 08: (C) Florian Fritz Muller and (R) Gonzalo Nicolas Villalba of FC Basel ... [+]
FIFA
Publisher(s): EA Sports
Objective: FIFA is a soccer simulator game which follows the same rules as real-life soccer. Score points against your opponent by kicking the soccer ball into the net.
Recent/Upcoming: EA Sports FIFA 20 Summer Cup Series
Most recent and total prize pools: $228,000 / ~$7,000,000 or more
Major Teams/Orgs and Owners: Fnatic (Sam Mathews), Guild Esports (co-owned by David Beckham), Tundra Esports
MIAMI, FL - JULY 20: Call of Duty logo at CWL Final open event of the season features CWL Pro League ... [+]
Call of Duty
Publisher(s): Activision
Objective: Best of five format on a variety of maps and modes such as Search and Destroy [plant a bomb or defuse], Hardpoint [capture and project rotating objectives for points], and Domination [capture and hold objectives for points].
Recent/Upcoming events: Call of Duty League Championship (CDL)
Most recent and total prize pools: $4,600,000 / ~$25,000,000 or more
Major Teams/Orgs and Owners: Dallas Empire (Envy Gaming), Atlanta FaZe (Atlanta Esports Ventures and FaZe Clan), Chicago Huntsman (NRG)
First-person shooter (FPS)
First-person shooters are games in which the gameplay involves weapon-based combat against enemies from a first-person perspective. Within the Esport scene, 5v5 teams have to complete a certain objective. Some examples of these are: protecting a point or object of interest, being the last player alive, or destroying an object. Like sport games, the competition will often move to the newest game.
KATOWICE, POLAND - MARCH 01: View on the stage during Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Final game ... [+]
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO)
Publisher(s): Valve Corporation, Perfect World Games
Objective: You are either the terrorists or counter-terrorists. If you are the terrorists, plant a bomb [and defend] at one of two sites on the map while making sure the counter-terrorists do not defuse the bomb before it explodes. If you are the counter-terrorists, the objective is to defend the sites.
Recent/Upcoming events: The Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championships (better known as “Majors”)
Most recent and total prize pools: $1,000,000 / $100,900,000
Major Teams/Orgs and Owners: Astralis (Frederik Byskov, Jacob Lund Kristensen, Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth, René “cajunb” Borg, Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz, Finn “karrigan” Andersen, Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen), Team Liquid (aXiomatic), Evil Geniuses, Vitality (Nicolas Maurer)
KETTERING, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 12: A general view of one of the arenas at the epicLAN esport ... [+]
Rainbow Six Siege
Publisher(s): Ubisoft
Objective: According to guidescroll.com, the goal is “for attackers to secure the objective or eliminate all defenders. For defenders, it is to stop the attackers from completing the objective or eliminate all attackers.”
Recent/Upcoming events: Six Invitational 2020
Most recent and total prize pools: $3,000,000 / $12,214,525.74
Major Teams/Orgs and Owners: Spacestation Gaming, Ninjas in Pyjamas (Hicham Chahine), DarkZero Esports (Zachary Matula)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 29: Fans enter the arena before the start of gameplay at the Overwatch ... [+]
Overwatch
Publisher(s): Blizzard Entertainment
Objective: Compete in Hybrid (capture or defend point and then escort or prevent the movement of a payload), Assault (take or defend points on the map), and Escort (defend or prevent the movement of a payload) gamemodes to win best of three matches on different maps. Teams will either be attackers or defenders.
Recent/Upcoming events: Overwatch League (OWL)
Most recent and total prize pools: $5,000,000 / $22,049,333.28
Major Teams/Orgs and Owners: Shanghai Dragons (NetEase), Philadelphia Fusion (Comcast Spectacor), San Francisco Shock (Andy Miller)
Battle Royales
Battle royale games are like the Hunger Games. Your goal is to be the last person or team standing among [often] one hundred players. Collect weapons and consumables throughout the map to eliminate other players.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 28: General view of the Fortnite World Cup Finals - Final Round at Arthur ... [+]
Fortnite
Publisher(s): Epic Games, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Objective: Be the last person or team standing. Collect weapons, consumables, and resources [to construct defenses, ramps, or bridges].
Recent/Upcoming events: Fortnite Champion Series: Chapter 2 Season 3
Most recent and total prize pools: $5,000,000 / $95,339,626.00
Major Teams/Orgs and Owners: NRG, Team Liquid, 100 Thieves
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG)
Publisher(s): PUBG Corporation, Microsoft Studios, Tencent Games
Objective: Be the last person or team standing
Recent/Upcoming events: PUBG Continental Series 2
Most recent and total prize pools: $800,000 / $23,510,378.57
Major Teams/Orgs and Owners: Gen. G Esports, Team Liquid, Four Angry Men (unsigned) [many teams are unsigned]
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - AUGUST 02: A T1 team competitor competes during the EXP Invitational-Apex ... [+]
Apex Legends
Publisher(s): Electronic Arts (EA)
Objective: Be the last person or team standing
Recent/Upcoming events: Apex Legends Global Series
Most recent and total prize pools: $3,000,000 / $3,881,901.69
Major Teams/Orgs and Owners: NRG, Fnatic, Team Solomid (Andy "Reginald" Dinh, Søren "Bjergsen" Bjerg)
Fighting games are games in which the objective is to knock off or deplete the other player’s health points by dealing damage through actions such as punches, kicks, and other attacks. Some fighting Esport games are Mortal Combat, Super Smash Bros, Street Fighter V, and Tekken. Most of these games, especially Super Smash Bros [Melee and Ultimate], are popular in local tournaments with prize pools.
Racing games’ objective is to cross the finish line before your opponents. Some Esport racing games are iRacing, Formula 1, Forza, and Gran Turismo. Many of these events are sponsored by professional racing organizations such as Le Mans and NASCAR. Currently, racing games are beginning to utilize virtual reality or simulator-type rigs [using wheels or pedals] for competition. In April 2020, it was announced that Torque Esports would enter a broadcasting partnership with ESPN for live coverage of the sim racing Torque Esports’ The Race All-Star Series. Darren Cox, President and CEO of Torque Esports, stated in a release, “when we debuted our esports racing events, our live streaming numbers were off the charts, and now our agreement with ESPN along with our entire international broadcast package is taking virtual racing to an unprecedented global audience.”
Participants play a Magic: The Gathering card game during a weekly tournament at the Uncommons hobby ... [+]
Card games are strategy based Esports in which the objective is to deplete your opponents health. Some examples of card game Esports are Clash Royale, Hearthstone, and Magic: The Gathering Arena. In these games, a player builds a custom card deck which can be used in the arena.
Real-time strategy (RTS) games use resources to build units and defenses which can be used to defeat opponents or to protect your base. To win, a player needs to destroy more buildings than the opponent. Some examples are Clash of Clans, WarCraft III, and the largest, Starcraft II.
ANAHEIM, CA - NOVEMBER 3: Team Grmbl competes with Team Method: Triforce at World of WarCraft at ... [+]
Some games, such as World of Warcraft (WoW), a massively multiplayer online game [MMO], do not belong in one of the genres listed above. In WoW, the goal is to race other players to complete raids and other tasks. Other games, such as those played in virtual reality (VR), are still finding their place within the global Esports industry. Some examples of these games are Echo Arena and Onward. Echo Arena is most similar to a sports game, as players must throw a disc into a goal—- think the events in Tron and Ender’s Game. Onward is most similar to Call of Duty.
Games that were released within the past year are also beginning to solidify their spot within the Esports industry. For example, Call of Duty’s response to the battle royale genre, Call of Duty: Warzone, is slowly growing its Esport competitions. Moreover, Valorent, a game similar to Overwatch, is in a very similar position.
Any game, regardless of release date, can become an Esport if it has a community. In fact, some older games, like Quake, Doom, and Halo, even still have Esport competitions due to an active community. New games come out every month and you will always hear talks about Esports within the player base—- it proves who is the best at the game.
Next up, the players.
Prize pool statistics were found at esportsearnings.com.
This story was written with Brandon Cloobeck.
