The global esports phenomenon is one of the most amazing and impressive changes in the modern media landscape that we have seen in the last 10 years. Many analysts could point to the fact that competitive gaming would soon become a major problem, but few could predict how this would eventually happen.
Esports has been around in one form or another since gaming was a consumer category. However, the emergence of tournaments and events capable of competing with “regular”sporting events has required the industry itself to become much larger than its former niche would allow.
Esports has been gaining momentum over the years, but will the Xbox become the mainstream competition console?
Growing dominance of the gaming industry
This change occurred in the early years of the new millennium, when the gaming industry finally outpaced its main competitors, the film and music industries, in terms of revenue. Fast forward to today and this trend shows no signs of slowing down. The gaming industry today is worth about $220 billion, more than six times the size of the movie industry, despite the success of major franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Much of this growth may be due to the growing relevance and importance of the smartphone gaming sector, whose conventional “freemium”monetization model has proven to be very profitable for the wider industry. Elsewhere, the rise of loot boxes and other microtransactions in console and PC games has further supported the continued growth of the industry in the 21st century.
The inevitable rise
Since the early 2010s, several factors have come together to pave the way for mainstream esports. First, the cost of hardware – mainly gaming laptops and PCs – has become much more affordable, which has led to an increase in sales.
The organic growth of traditional esports events around the world, such as the League of Legends World Cup, has also begun to reach a tipping point, resulting in better coverage, sponsorship and advertising.
Then, when Amazon acquired Twitch — the world’s premier esports streaming hub — in 2014, it not only established competitive gaming in the eyes of the markets, but also opened the floodgates to a wider and better reach of the growing community.
This continued growth can be underscored by the fact that Google Trends found a 500 percent increase in searches for the word “esports”in the second half of the 2010s. Undoubtedly, by 2020, esports should have received more recognition.
2020 and mass appearance
In 2020, the event markets stopped overnight. For example, the sports industry has been hit hard, with a total loss of worldwide revenue for the year estimated at more than $8 billion. However, for esports, which proved to be more resilient due to its remoteness, it was an opportunity to break through. Sports fans’ appetite for competition has not waned, and esports is in an ideal position to gain market share and new viewers. The industry has grown 18% in one year, surpassing $1 billion in global revenue and establishing itself as a major media problem.
In the following years, despite predictions by some analysts that the industry would shrink after the return of competitive sports, the esports industry has been gaining momentum. Sports fans are now just as likely to use betting offers provided by comparison platforms like OddsChecker to support top esports events as they are to bet on the NBA game.
Microsoft has big plans
In light of this, console makers are investing heavily in an effort to attract new viewers and players from the heart of esports to PC, with Microsoft in particular charting a roadmap to console esports dominance over the next 5 years. Let’s take a look at what they and the 9th Gen Xbox Series X|S have in store for competitive gaming in the future.
The Halo Championship Series is growing in popularity thanks to Microsoft’s investment
Halo Championship Series
No franchise is as closely tied to the Xbox brand as Halo. Despite the apparent decline in quality in recent releases – especially since 343 Studios took over from Bungie in 2012 – Halo’s multiplayer has always been a strong esports record. The latest game, Halo Infinite, was praised for its well-balanced multiplayer, and Microsoft has invested heavily in promoting the Halo Championship Series.
Forza Racing Championship
Forza Motorsport is Xbox’s answer to the world’s best-selling racing sim Gran Turismo. Although Forza doesn’t enjoy the same prestige as its Sony-exclusive rival, the franchise has grown rapidly over the years, with the Forza Horizon spin-off series proving hugely popular.
Now, in the spring of 2023, the main series will have an eighth installment, a complete reboot, simply called Forza Motorsport. Many people are already thrilled with what they’ve seen here, with integrated pit stops, realistic day and night conditions and weather worthy of note as brand new features to the series. The Forza Racing Championship will no doubt be a hot fight this year as many teams and players flock to experience what the next generation of Forza has to offer.
Future Exclusive: Call of Duty League
Last but not least, if Microsoft’s historic bid to acquire Activision Blizzard as a premier studio succeeds, the $30 billion Call of Duty franchise could one day become an Xbox exclusive. This is unlikely in the near future. The terms of Microsoft’s successful bid included the provision that the next three Call of Duty games would also be released on the PlayStation. However, it’s far more likely that Xbox will aim to be the premier venue for the Call of Duty League (CDL).
This is not unprecedented as the CDL has been hosted on Xbox and PlayStation. In 2021, the series moved to PC, but if Xbox gets the exclusive rights to the event, it will position it as the dominant esports console in the eyes of many people.