Esports: Most popular games, prize money involved; know what is it all about

Esports: Types, most popular games, prize money involved; know what is it all about

New Delhi, April 15: The world of video games isn't just meant for fun and timepass. There are several video games which aren't just played for fun, in fact, one can even make a career out of it. There are several professional video games competitions which fall into several major genres and they are commonly known as Esports.

Esports are video games which are played in professional competitions. A large number of esports titles including fighting games, real-time strategy (RTS), first-person shooters (FPS), or multiplayer online battle arena games (MOBA).

The Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games are one of the most popular genres in terms of participation and viewership. Players from across the globe participate in these competitions which award hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money.

The following are the games which have or had a professional scene:

1: Fighting Games

These were the earliest games which started professional tournaments. This led to the birth of what would become the Evolution Championship Series in 1999.

Competitions in the genre are generally individual competitions and both the competitors provide input to the same machine. This genre originally focused on arcade play, but it gradually progressed to console play as arcades declined.

The Street Fighter series, Mortal Kombat series, Marvel vs. Capcom series, Tekken series, Killer Instinct series and Super Smash Bros. series are amongst those fighting games played at a professional level.

Important tournaments for the genre include the Evolution Championship Series and Capcom Cup, Tougeki - Super Battle Opera was a major tournament for several years.

2: First-person shooters:

The First-person shooters' games became very popular amongst PC Gaming. Such games focus on simulating a firefight from a first-person perspective, and it could also be individual or team-based.

Some of the classic games of first-person shooters include the PC game Team Fortress 2 - featured in a few smaller leagues such as the ESEA League, RGL, United Gaming Clans, and European Team Fortress 2 League.

Popular games like Call of Duty, Counter-Strike series and Halo competitions are usually played with their console editions. Doom, Quake, Counter-Strike series, Call of Duty, Unreal Tournament, Painkiller, Battlefield series, CrossFire, Overwatch, Team Fortress 2, Alliance of Valiant Arms are some of the most popular first-person shooters games.

3: Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA)

MOBA games are historically a spin-off of real-time strategy (RTS) games. In traditional RTS games, many units were controlled by a single player, but MOBAs are typically team focused. In this model, every member of a team of five players controls a single hero unit. MOBAs are generally played on personal computers.

League of Legends, Dota 2 (Defense of the Ancients), Smite, Heroes of the Storm, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Vainglory are some of the most popular MOBA games and the winners of these tournaments get hundred thousands of dollar as prize money.

4: Racing:

Racing games like Gran Turismo Sport, iRacing, Project CARS, and TrackMania are very popular esports across the world. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) officially endorses an annual FIA Gran Turismo Championship, consisting of two series throughout the year.

These virtual races are viewed via YouTube live-streaming from the official GRAN TURISMO TV channel. The tournament also allows the audience to join in by rooting for their country.

There are also bike racing games.

5: Real-time strategy games:

Competitions involving traditional real-time strategy games generally feature individual competitors competing on personal computers over a local area network or the internet.

The Age of Empires series, which was not nearly as popular as other RTS games during this period, was played competitively as well. It was also a part of the World Cyber Games from 2000-2003, and 2007-2008.

StarCraft, StarCraft II, Warcraft II are some of the most popular real-time strategy games that are being played on personal computers.

6: Sports games

FIFA Football, Madden NFL (series of American football), NBA 2K (basketball), Pro Evolution Soccer, and Rocket League are some of the sports games which are available on esports. These virtual games are very popular among video game lovers.

7: Third-person shooters:

It is a subgenre of 3D shooter games in which the player character is visible on-screen during gaming, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting. Syphon Filter, Dead Space 2, Max Payne, Mass Effect 2, Gears of War, Jet Force Gemini, Spec Ops: The Line are some of the most popular third-person shooters' games.

8: Others:

There are other strategy video games which are played competitively. Hearthstone, Pokemon, Puyo Puyo, Tetris, War Thunder, War of Warcraft, Clash Royale, etc. are some of such games.