Electronic sports, or esports, is one of the most popular forms of entertainment around the world. It is also regarded as a type of new sport, in which players compete against one another using video games or online computer games, which include both classic and recent online game titles.
Since the 2010s, an increasing number of esports competitions have been hosted across the world, with victors receiving a reward in several of them. Esports has become more prominent in the gaming business. A huge number of professional esports players exist, some of whom play in teams or are sponsored by businesses.
Aside from the rising number of professional esports players, esports has lately grown in popularity due to a large number of fans who like watching them play the games on online game streaming platforms like YouTube and Twitch.
Best Esports Games for 2022
So, which esports game should you play or watch right now? For both novices and expert gamers, here is a list of the top esports games from across the world.
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Dota 2
Dota 2 is a free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game that has become one of the most popular esports games in the world since its release in 2013. It began as a standalone sequel to a WarCraft 3 mod called Defense of the Ancients and has now grown to over 10 million monthly concurrent players. With 32.2 million esports hours viewed by fans, it was also the #1 live-streamed esports on Twitch in April 2017, one of the few games to momentarily dethrone League of Legends. The International, the primary tournament, is organised and sponsored by Valve, the game creator and publisher, who usually pay prize pools of up to $1.6 million in the yearly tournament, making it the world’s largest competitive gaming event.
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Call of Duty
The long-running FPS franchise is well known for its incredibly competitive gaming communities, with professional esports tournaments organised by series publisher Activision in partnership with multiple other sponsors and groups, including Electronic Sports League, Major League Gaming, and PlayStation, each year as a single-player and multiplayer holiday shooter. The Call of Duty World League hosted yearly in Australia, North America, Latin America, and the United Kingdom, is its most important tournament.
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Fortnite
Fortnite was first released in 2017 as a third-person shooter/player-versus-environment (PVE) multiplayer survival-crafting game, but it was quickly re-shaped into a player-versus-player experience with the release of Fortnite Battle Royale, a free-to-play additional game mode that has since surpassed the base game in popularity. The last man standing idea proved immensely compelling, with over 1 million players on the field battling to the death on an island at launch and 1.3 million concurrent players as of December 2017. Its premise is very similar to that of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, which was published the same year and popularised the ‘Battle Royale’ sub-genre among casual and competitive gamers. In 2019, Fortnite is one of the most popular esports games in terms of both popularity and prize money.
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League of Legends
League of Legends is the fourth most popular esports game, with over $8 million in prize money distributed in 2019. LoL is a competitive video game that combines aspects of role-playing games and first-person shooters. League of Legends is a video game in which two teams of “champions” compete on several maps and game types, with each team having its own set of abilities. The competitive esports sector for League of Legends is booming, with professional contests in Europe and North America in particular. This esport game offers all levels of tournament play, and Riot Games’ regular updates keep League of Legends new and interesting.
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PUBG
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, or PUBG, is a hugely popular multiplayer online battle royale game developed and published by PUBG Corporation, a subsidiary of Korean video game publisher Bluehole Inc. It was first released as an early access title in 2017 and then as a full retail release at the end of the year. The last man standing sub-genre, which pits 100 players against each other on a vast island, skyrocketed in popularity with PUBG’s release and has led several other video games, both esports and non-esports, to include ‘Battle Royale’ game modes in their titles. While the game has only been featured as the major emphasis in three prototype esports events, 2018 will see the game evolve as a competitive esport, and anybody who doubts its attraction will continue will be proven wrong.
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Overwatch
Overwatch, which was released in 2016, is the most anticipated esports title in the United States and the most played a competitive multiplayer first-person shooter in the world, with 14.4 million monthly users on PC and console just a year after its release. Overwatch continues to thrive in 2019, with its parent company Activision Blizzard launching its professional esports league, the Overwatch League, and significant investments from traditional sports moguls like Robert Kraft and Shaquille O’Neal, but with more games on the way, some changes may be required in the not-too-distant future.
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Counter-Strike
CS: GO, which was released in 2012 as the latest instalment in the long-running popular Counter-Strike series of FPS multiplayer games, dominates the esports world with million-dollar tournament prize pools fronted by developer Valve, who co-sponsors and organises the ‘Majors’ events, while many third-party esport organisers, such as the Electronic Sports League, host regional, smaller events. It is without a doubt one of the most impactful games in the mainstreaming of esports. Is the most popular esports franchise in the United Kingdom, according to fans.
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StarCraft II
SC2, a third-person real-time strategy game released in 2010 and recently re-released as a free-to-play title, is part of the most successful RTS computer gaming franchise ever in South Korea, where the game flourishes in the competitive esports scene. While officially-sanctioned pro SC2 events have lower prize pools (around the US $150,000) and its popularity has waned since the introduction of the MOBA sub-genre and the resounding success of Dota 2 and League of Legends, StarCraft II’s intensely competitive one-versus-one format is irreplaceable in spectacle and isn’t going away anytime soon.
Conclusion
While Dota 2, League of Legends, and Counter-Strike are the most popular esports, with top teams earning millions of dollars, there are hundreds of other games that are as popular. Organizing a tournament is a common way for game producers to gain more attention for their game, however, many tournaments emerge more naturally as a result of the game’s success.
We’ve rated the most popular and well-known esports games above. Wsse analysed total prize money from previous years, viewership, and how popular esports games are at esports bookies to build this ranking.
