The eSports industry is growing to unimaginable heights, so much that we’re seeing new trends emerging. Competitive gaming is seeing an all-time high in terms of viewership, revenue, and player bases across all eSports titles. Even with the recent setbacks, LAN events are still planed and games are attaching lucrative prize pools to attract more organizations into entering these competitions.
With games such as CS: GO, Dota 2, and even Valorant all scheduling tournaments for the upcoming season, we might see a return back to normal. But what are the latest trends in competitive eSports? To find that out, make sure to continue reading.
A Rise Of Mobile Gaming
As games are becoming more and more optimized to run on even the weakest of PC hardware, certain industry giants are porting their games to smartphones. Out of all titles that do run on smartphones, PUBG mobile is probably the biggest one.
With an immense player base all across the world, gamers can play the battle royale game from anywhere and at any time. While the main player base of PUGB mobile includes regions like South America and Southeast Asia, it’s only a matter of time before the “western” world catches up.
Recent tournaments have also shown us that video game companies can make a lot of money by porting their titles to smartphones. This is further evident by PUGB mobile’s impressive growth.
The VR Trend
It’s only a matter of time before VR does something unexpected. Granted, the technology is quite expensive and this is probably the biggest reason why it isn’t as popular in competitive eSports. But make no mistake about it, there is competitiveness in VR. Titles such as Space Junkies, Echo Arena, Tower Tag, and many more make up the core of the eSports scene.
In many of these games, players have to be in peak shape to be able to maneuver and dodge incoming fire from the enemy team. This is quite rewarding for the player as they don’t have to sit in a chair all day long. The VR trend in eSports has been labeled by many as “the perfect match”. This trend isn’t perfect, however. What holds VR back is the before-mentioned subject of expenses.
VR can be quite expensive and require a lot of free space so gamers can do what they’re supposed to. While the latter isn’t so much of a problem, full utilization of the technology will eliminate many core issues that VR faces whenever trying to break into the eSports scene. Don’t expect MOBA games to be popular on VR. What gamers should expect from VR are shooters in both classic and futuristic settings.
The Boosting Trend
Boosting is seen by many gamers as a negative thing. But things are more complicated than that. Competitive eSports is, well… competitive. This means that hundreds if not thousands of gamers are all competing for the top spots. Making the top spots is what gets you noticed by organizations.
Some gamers are so good that they even have multiple accounts in the top 10 spots of a particular game. These accounts are called “smurf” accounts. This is where all the negativity comes. Imagine playing a ranked Dota 2 match and you get to play against one of the best players in the game. What the player is doing is simply boosting his account to reach the top spots. But you have no right playing against them as they are ten times better than you.
So what do you do? You lose the game of course. Many pros get into boosting as a way to make money. This is something that is widely accepted by the industry. And you can even hire a professional player to help you place higher in your placement matches or to reach a certain elo. Professional boosting and coaching is a means to achieve that. So if you’re interested in Valorant boosting, make sure to visit this page.
Valorant is one of Riot Games’ best projects and it attracted many gamers who are competition on different maps against each other. This competitiveness has motivated Boosting Factory to come up with boosts for this game and help new players progress faster.
Focus on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S
PC gaming is definitely the most popular among gamers. PC delivers the best performances and every eSports title can be played on PC. That cannot be said about consoles (queue the PC master race meme). However, don’t be so quick to jump on the PC bandwagon as console gaming is seeing a massive rise.
For starters, sports-based games like FIFA and Madden have never been bigger than now. More and more players are playing FIFA than ever before. Not only that, but the professional scene is shaping up nicely.Although it is nowhere near the likes of CS: GO or Dota 2, sports-based eSports games have one clear advantage; the lure of professional sports teams.
Nowadays, instead of playing for eSports organizations, you can play for real football teams. The English Premier League funds an eLeague where Premier League teams hire the best of the best and represent them on the global FIFA scene. Console gaming might not look as attractive, but it is a trend that will only rise as next-gen consoles become more available to the general public.
A Change of Demographics
As video games are becoming more popular, more and more people are choosing to play games as a form of entertainment. This ultimately drives both the gaming and eSports industry, as a higher player base means there is a greater chance of new players joining the pro scene. But the industry is widely made out of males.
Guys are truly the biggest gamers, but are we seeing a shift in demographics? There is a trend in certain eSports titles where female gamers join all-female leagues and compete in the same format as an all-male. Titles such as Rainbow Six Siege are already driving this trend with its CCS Women’s League. Other notable ones include League of Legend’s Women’s Esports League and more.
More so, one of gaming’s biggest organizations, TSM, has recently announced an all-women Valorant roster that will compete in the highest tiers of Valorant. Although there is a long way to go, the sudden change of demographic will only encourage eSports organizations to create an all-women’s team in the future.
