eSports continue their rise in popularity at the moment on both mobile and on PC (I’m very close to starting a drinking game where you have to drink whenever someone mentions “eSports"). Games like Hearthstone (Free) are becoming increasingly popular as competitive sports with the prizes increasing and more and more people tuning in to watch professional video game players battle it out in the digital world. What eSports are still seeking at this point is legitimacy in the eyes of the general non-gaming public, and eGames, a new initiative supported by the UK Government which launched today as part of the London Games Festival, is hoping to change that. The aim of this initiative is to positively shape the future of competitive gaming.
What eGames will do differently than most other eSports competition is organize this event in a manner similar to the Olympics: no monetary prizes but, rather, simply medals. In addition to the lack of monetary prizes, the tournament will set country against country, with Britain, Canada, Brazil, and USA having already signed up to bring their eTeams to the first planned event in Rio. More specifically, the first planned eGames event will take place during the 2016 Rio Olympics and will include both team and individual games. We don’t have any more details at the moment (such as what games will be played), and even if we don’t get any mobile games this time around, it’s pretty likely that will change down the road. So, a pretty fun initiative that should give plenty of exposure to eSports if executed properly.
Keep in mind, though, that while the organizers are touting how this competition will be all about medals and not money, I’m pretty sure the competitors will still make money through sponsorships just like Olympic athletes do. Not that this should in any way affect the event’s potential and laudable goals, but still a point worth making, I think. I’m very interested to see how this event will unfold because the idea of watching an individual and team eSports competition take place during the Olympics is definitely something I wouldn’t have imagined possible a few years ago.
