With people spending more and more time in their homes nowadays, we are lucky that the age of the internet has allowed us to dwell in the world of eSports. Still, considering that there are so many online games on the market, what should you start investing your energies in? Well, here are some of the games that people love playing this year – and probably won’t get bored of anytime soon.
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DOTA 2
Whether you are an eSports enthusiast or not, chances are that you have at least once heard of DOTA. Everyone has that gamer friend whom, once they get some free time, will immediately log into the game and spend some quality time playing. And it’s actually quite competitive and profitable, considering that this MOBA game gathers around 100 million players every month.
DOTA 2 is also one of the most live-streamed sports of April 2017, with Twitch logging 2.2 million eSports hours that were watched by fans. It also has quite the attractive main tournament, The International (sponsored by Valve, no less), where people have the chance of winning the $1.6 million prize pool.
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CALL OF DUTY
Released every year as a multi-player or single-player shooter, this game has been quite popular for its engaging and competitive community and great graphics. Professional tournaments are held every year, from bigger to smaller tournaments, where you have the opportunity of winning a variety of useful gear for your game.
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FIFA 19
Are you passionate about football but don’t want or do not have the possibility to play outdoors? Well, FIFA 19 can certainly scratch that itch. The FIFA series itself has been a popular eSport for quite some time – and with each upcoming version, EA Games continues to keep the competition going all over the world. And with the popularity of the game shooting straight towards the skies, it is obvious that at some point, it came with some generous prize pools.
These tournament prize pools generally go way over $1 million – but with the popularity of the game increasing more and more, we can expect that they will go even higher in 2020. Twitch viewership has also increased greatly in the last year, and more and more people visit gg.bet to place a wager on their favorite teams.
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FORTNITE
Released originally as a third-person shooter versus the environment, it has now become a player vs. player with the release of the Fortnite Battle Royale. Featuring 100 players fighting towards the death on an island, the person that wins the tournament has the chance of winning a very generous prize pool. Over $20 million were handed out in the United States for this purpose – which makes it understandable why this eSport gathers millions of people every month.
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LEAGUE OF LEGENDS
League of Legends is also one of those games that, whether you intended to or not, you know everything about. This first-person shooter has risen so high in popularity that last year it handed more than $8 million in prize pools. Plus, the beauty of this game is that you have various maps and various modes that you can engage into. The scene is growing bigger and bigger every month, and people are gathering from all over the world to show off their skills, win the prize pool – and obviously, have some fun as well.
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COUNTER-STRIKE: GLOBAL OFFENSIVE
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (also popularly referred to as GS: GO) is one of those games that has been around since forever. It is a squad-based shooter where teams of five players play against opposite teams of the same size. It came off as a modification of the game half-life – but eventually, it springs to life on its own.
Steadily and surely, CS: GO kept growing more and more in popularity, gaining some impressive numbers on Twitch – about 46.5 million people every month, to be more precise. Plus, since there or no myriad of complicated hexes, spells or strategies to be used, this game is a popular choice for those that are looking for engagement and simplicity.
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OVERWATCH
Inspired greatly from Team Fortress too, Overwatch is a smooth mix of role-playing, single-player shooters and battle arenas that place a great emphasis on unique and stunning-looking heroes. Its launch in 2016 resulted in a great success, and with the arrival of the Overwatch League of 2018, it was officially deemed an eSport.
There are quite some tournaments that you may join in, with Overwatch handing in millions of dollars every month as well to the lucky winners. Plus, it also has millions of people tuning in into the game, placing wagers or simply enjoying the intensity of the game.
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HEARTHSTONE
If you are a fan of card games or collectible cards in general, then you might certainly find Hearthstone catchy. With its emergence in the digital space, it has gained quite a lot of momentum, and it immediately gained the status of eSport. Over the past few years, the game has gained many regular players – and it only took three years to go from 10 million to 70 million players.
Moreover, unlike actual card games that are very expensive to buy, this one is free for everyone that wants to give it a go. You may easily build a desk while in the comfort of your own home and join tournaments without having to make great investments in physical gears. Millions of people watch tournaments on Twitch every year, making Hearthstone quite the popular game to spend your time on at the moment.
Final Thoughts
The world of eSports has always had quite a lot to offer – particularly in the last few years. No matter if your passion lies in football, shooter games or even card games, there is certainly a good game for you to pick – and these are only the most popular ones! You just have to choose the one that sparks your interest the most.