Why the UK needs to take eSports seriously

When is the UK going to wake up to eSports culture? Revenue in this field is expected to reach over $1bn this year, and already prizes for individual tournaments range into the millions of pounds. Star players like Lee Sang-hyeok from South Korea, known as Faker, earn multi-million salaries. But in Britain eSports is still basically a cult phenomenon: beloved by a minority of hardcore enthusiasts, while the majority are either unaware or uninterested in its existence.

There are several reasons why Britain is not a major player in the eSports world, and to some extent they all feed into one another. Where to begin? Despite the existence of talented players like Spencer Ealing, who won the FIFA Interactive World Cup in 2017, the UK hasn’t produced any eSports superstars or successful homegrown teams. And when Brits like Ealing do achieve great things they’re hardly cheered on by our media, or given the official recognition they deserve.

Success breeds success, especially if it’s given due recognition. Children need sporting heroes to look up to and aspire to, and it’s clear that if we celebrated our eSports successes a bit more then more would want to follow in their footsteps.

A change in attitude

The whole attitude to eSports and video games in general needs to change dramatically in this country. Despite their huge popularity and undeniable leaps forward in sophistication over the last decade or so, video games are still seen I many quarters as low culture or even a pernicious waste of time. The idea that someone could actually make a career out of playing video games, and an extremely successful one at that, is seen as outrageous by the majority of parents, teachers and employment advisors.

In the UK, playing games isn’t seen as being a real job, and eSports isn’t seen as real sports. This is the first thing that needs to change if this country is going to produce world-class teams and players. Alongside this, the UK needs to recognise the eSports industry as one capable of greatly benefiting the national economy, and it needs to invest in it accordingly.

Investment needed

82% of eSports income is expected to come from media rights, sponsorship and advertising deals in 2019, which renders the sector particularly vulnerable to commercial decisions outside of its control. That is, sponsors and advertisers may withdraw for a multitude of reasons, many unconnected with eSports as such. For instance, they may have to cut their own promotional budget due to business being slower than expected.

To become more self-sufficient, UK eSports needs to find ways to monetize the sector itself. At the moment, most games and tournaments are free to view. One form of money coming into eSports is from betting, and perhaps if a portion of the revenue from this was funnelled into supporting the industry we could be partway to a solution.

A serious sport

Money is far from the only benefit of betting. The rise in recent years of eSports betting sites is representative of a larger cultural shift in societal perceptions about the activity. Betting is not an activity for children – a point hammered firmly home with the declaration of loot boxes as gambling by the Netherlands and Belgium last year.

By legitimising eSports betting, we serve to legitimise eSports as an adult activity. In the U.S, 62% of eSports viewers in 2018 were between the ages of 18 – 34. The 18 – 34 demographic is a powerful one when it comes to sponsors, and if eSports can maintain this kind of ratio while building the raw numbers of their fans, the industry could be looking at an enormous influx of money.

Greater diversity

Fan communities need to also do the work though, if they are going to grow and prosper. One issue that needs to be urgently addressed is the lack of women among both the fans and players of eSports. Over 50% of UK gamers are female, but women account for just 22% of eSports team members. And it seems one of the reasons women are staying away from eSports is the sexist banter spouted by a minority of fans online. A minority they may be – but an unfortunately vocal minority.

If eSports fans want to grow their community amongst the wider demographic, then they need to show that they will not tolerate misogynistic language or behaviour in their communities or anywhere else. The same goes for any other take that exhibits prejudiced or elitist attitudes, knowingly or not. For eSports to survive it needs more followers from a wider demographic, and existing fans should do what they can to encourage this.

In a world where 45% of Chinese adults follow eSports but just 7% of Brits have ever watched a match or tournament, something needs to change. ESports is sweeping the world, but the UK is getting left behind. Faster internet speeds and more investment need to be joined by better representation if the UK is going to compete on a level playing field.