UNDERSTANDING THE COMPLEXITY OF THE ESPORTS ECOSYSTEM

UNDERSTANDING THE COMPLEXITY OF THE ESPORTS ECOSYSTEM

According to industry experts, the benefit and challenge for brands entering the esports ‘arena’ are that since the sport is new enough, fans reward brands that help it grow by backing teams and tournaments. But before you take off with your media planning team, advertisers also warn that gamers and loyal fans have been known to neglect or punish brands which are seen as exploitative and only in it for a shortterm gain. 

The reason for this is because taking the time to understand the esports ecosystem is not for the faint of heart which in turn, has created an atypical, loyal fan base that’s receptive to advertising, but only the brands that do it ‘right.’ 

With a laundry list of big players, moving parts, and preferential platforms to consider, simply put, esports is confusing to understand and even more complicated to get into. Luckily, PMG has a few longtime esports fans to help brands navigate the waters of the esports ecosystem.

To make our deep dive into the complexity of gaming culture and esports a bit more comprehensible, we’ve simplified the involved parties into three main sections:

•  The Players 

•  The Organizations & Teams 

•  The Esports Leagues, Casters & Game Publishers 

THE PLAYERS

Like any profession, rising through the ranks to become a top esports player of a specific game takes dedication and practice, so much so that 12 to 14 hour days of gameplay is pretty standard across the industry. Once at the top (or on the way to it), talented gamers have two esports career paths: streaming or playing professionally on a team. 

Streamers are gamers who livestream themselves as they play video games, typically in a more casual playstyle. Streamers are incredibly profitable and often become influencers in their own right. Partnerships with streamers align closely with influencer marketing agreements with product placements done through the individual's manager/organization which handles all the events, social posts, and sponsored content opportunities.

The best professional esports athletes are quickly picked up by teams and play in tournaments around the world against other teams. Even more impressive is that top players start their professional gaming careers around 16 to 17 years of age. Because livestreaming is so ingrained in the gaming culture, professional players will frequently livestream practice sessions or all their gameplay. 

THE ORGANIZATIONS & TEAMS

Esports Organizations have several teams that each play their specific game but compete and operate under the same umbrella name similar to how NCAA universities compete in different types of sports but all under the same umbrella organization. By leveraging their massive fan base and influence, organizations seek advertising sponsorships as additional revenue streams for the organization and its players. The better the players, the better the organization which quickly leads to a large following and ample partnership opportunities. 

Esports Teams are composed of professional players and operate similarly to traditional sports teams like the Dallas Cowboys or New York Yankees with coaches, team managers, practice schedules, marketing support, and operations specialists. Each team specializes and competes in one specific game and like traditional sports, have massive followings and fan bases; millions of followers on Twitter, millions of fans watching online, and thousands of spectators following them to in-person live events.

ESPORTS LEAGUES, CASTERS & GAME PUBLISHERS

Similar to traditional sports, Esports Leagues offer teams the opportunity to compete against one another (for cash prizes) and have regular seasons, playoffs, and world championships. League tournaments are run by companies like Major League Gaming (MLG), Electronic Sports League (ESL), or game-specific leagues like League of Legends Championship Series or Call of Duty World League (organized by MLG). Total prize money for league events can be upwards of hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.

To commercialize and better establish the esports industry as a legitimate spectator sport, Casters are also used during esports tournaments and events. With a unique skillset of being able to speak to a player’s deep technical and strategic acumen in real-time, esports casters play a pivotal role in keeping viewers educated and entertained during gameplay and the downtime of an event. Just like the esports athletes they speak of during their time on air, the most prominent figures are better known by their Gamertags than their actual names. 

Each game is the intellectual property of its creator, known in the industry as publishers. As said best by Toptal, the publisher’s role in the esports ecosystem “can be considered ‘all powerful.’” Unlike traditional sports which can be played by anyone and anywhere, publishers build and develop their games and thus, own all the rights surrounding them [i.e., how and where the games can be played, who can host tournaments, etc.]. Because publishers own the intellectual property of their games, industry participants (players, teams, tournament organizers, league executives) have to play by their rules. Literally. 

To make it even more confusing for newcomers, esports is the term used to describe all the games played in professional competitions. Game genres are the type of game while the branded name specifies the specific game being played.