Esports: What is the euphoria about?

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Can professional gaming be recognised as an actual sporting career in India? Well, to begin with – Esports, which essentially is a form of competitive video gaming in a professional arena, has already been recognised by over 100 countries, including Canada, Korea, Denmark, Finland, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Russia, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

However, it still lacks Indian government’s backing, which is the primary reason why it is still a mere source of entertainment here.

Esports is expected to have an audience size of 130 million in India by FY25, according to KPMG.

The pandemic-hit 2020 saw a major jump in the popularity of Esports in India with viewer size doubling to 17 million and the prize pool growing by 25-30%, industry experts point out. The only form of entertainment and distraction apart from OTT platforms was online gaming. People ventured into the arena via major platforms like YouTube, Facebook and Twitch.

How is Esports different from casual gaming?

When casual gaming encroaches into the a professional arena where accuracy, timing and strategic decision are the basic parameters to assess the gamer’s performance and one gets paid for it, it becomes eSports.

This digital playground for multiplayer video game competitions between professional players consists of tournament organisers, streaming platforms and several brand sponsors. Very much like cricket, basketball and other sports, these tournaments are broadcasted live for the public.

Do you require some expert skills to be good at Esports?

One needs to have a skillset that is above average in a competitive game of their choice. They also must know how to function in a team. It is an added advantage if they know how to function in sports team.

Consumer as well as electronic brands are raising budget allocation for sponsoring these tournaments, industry experts suggest.

How can you make money out of Esports?

Esports teams and athletes function the same way as an IPL team and its players. Once a team is formed, it must enter a tournament to compete for the prize pool. Additionally, Esports players also function as content creators on platforms like Twitch, YouTube and Facebook.

Esports is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and was a part of Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta where India won the Bronze medal.

The Indian government’s nod to make Esport an official sport is eagerly awaited for users as athletes, organisers and sponsors involved with online gaming end up paying a 35% entertainment tax instead of 20% sports tax. This is a big hurdle in the way of Esports being accepted nationally.

What are the growth hurdles for Esports in India?

The primary hurdle for esports growth in India is the consumer sentiment attached to gaming. The consumers consider gaming either as a leisure activity or a waste of time because the means to monetize it is extremely difficult at the initial stages. But that’s the case with most careers.

The Esports Federation of India (ESFI) hopes to get online gaming recognized by the Sports Ministry soon. It is a full member of International Esports Federation (IESF), Global Esports Federation (GEF) and Asian Esports Federation (AESF) and is preparing for Asian Games 2022 as well.

“Esports is the only sport that can outrun cricket easily. We need government support to recognize it as a sport and not mix it with online gambling,” Lokesh Suji, Director – Esports Federation of India, told The Economic Times.

So how do beginners enter the digital playground?

Install a multiplayer game and your journey begins once you’ve logged in. You must drop into the playground, or as the gamers call it “lobby” and understand the mechanics of the game along with developing a game sense and a play style to pave a path for yourself as a professional gamer or an esports athlete.