eSports front and centre at E3

Video game competition as spectator sport is now a major force that drives the industry, according to one leading eSports company.

Offerings at last week’s Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles also showed that developers are building games with features to be attractive online spectator events.

“There are more people watching these games than playing them; it has more than crept into the design cycle,” says Craig Levine, head of eSports outfit ESL.

As competitive performance climbs as a priority, hardware makers push to field better computer chips, screens, controllers and more.

For the first time at E3, there was an eSports zone powered by ESL where video game battles were fought and streamed online.

“eSports has one of the fastest growing audiences in not just video games but all of entertainment,” says Rich Taylor, senior vice-president of communications at the Electronic Software Association behind E3.

The eSports industry will accelerate from roughly US$200 million in revenue in 2015 to US$1 billion by 2018, according to Baird Equity Research estimates cited by E3 organisers.