The world of Sports was changed forever when Gaming became an officially recognized Olympic sport. E-sports, as it is more commonly known, can be made up of any competitive game that allows players to face off against one another.

No longer was sport simply reserved for those with the physical powers to play on the field. Suddenly a whole new generation of athletes was born. Athletes who battled in virtual worlds rather than physically.

But as it grew in popularity so too did the gaming industry as a whole. More and more gaming moved away from being an art of passion, with games being made by small studios who cared. Instead, we saw major corporations swing into the gaming field. Each run by investors who nothing about gaming and seek only to turn a profit.

The Slow Increase

With this trend towards money over art, we have seen gaming slowly become more and more commercialized. Only a few years ago a fully-fledged triple-A game would cost a maximum of $40. Now you would be lucky to get it for that on sale.

But how does all this affect the world of e-sports? Most of the games being played are often free games such as Leauge of Legends. Is the e-sports world about to fall victim to the issue of over-commercialization.

Our opinion is that it will. Already we are seeing the effects of it. More and more companies are throwing their hats into the ring. Hiring teams to represent them, rather than the teams being scouted independently. Soon we won’t be watching actual gaming pros face-off, we will watch as cooperate paid players fight on behalf of the company.

 

The Effects On Us

The increase in the commercialization of the gaming world isn’t all bad. It has allowed a lot of smaller, more independent services to flourish. You can buy pre-owned games easily. You can get an aimbot for valorant or gold boosting for WoW with ease. But these are all positives designed by gamers for gamers.

What we have also seen in a steady increase in the bad practices associated with the commercial world. Games being sold half complete with the rest sold as DLC down the line. Early access titles taking the money and never finishing. Major game companies forcing you to use online DRM and legally binding you to contract to ensure you don’t own what you pay for.

And this translates into e-sports as well. Soon ticket prices are going to soar. You will be forced to give your details over to massive corporations. The e-sports tournaments will be plastered with commercial advertising and the entire audience will be forced to watch adverts in between round.

 

Can It Be Stopped

There is always a way to hold back these swarming tides. The only way for it not to work is for the masses to stand up and fight back. And the only way to fight back in these modern times is with your wallet.

These companies rely on the new wave of gamers, those who only know the gaming world in the twisted shape it currently sits. They rely on them funneling mass amounts of cash into the system. So, if people want to stop e-sports becoming too commercialized they need to organize and stop attending the events.

Some e-sports teams have already considered starting their own official league sanctioned by players for the players. No corporate sponsors allowed. But as it stands at the moment this is nothing more than a pipe dream.