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Esports is something that has been around longer than you might think, and yet, there are many who wonder just how big it “really is.” Thankfully, we have some clear indicators that in 2025, especially, it’s the fastest growing thing out there of its kind, even against other sports! Allow us to break down how that works, how it’s still growing, and what the future may hold.
#1 – The Rise Of Esports
As ironic as it may sound, Esports have technically been around since the very early stages of gaming as a whole. You might think, “Wait, how is that possible?” The answer is two-fold. First, there were arcade games, which everyone could play so long as they were near the machines in question. The “high score” rankings were technically the origins of competitions between players. It’s one thing to be another person in a round of a game, whether it be a fighting game or something else. But it’s another thing entirely to be better than everyone else and have a high score that can be seen by all who play.
Then, in 1990, the game changed in the biggest of ways, as the Nintendo World Championships were held. This was an attempt by The Big N to further popularize gaming and their own brand by having a massive competition that spanned the United States and showed off the talents of gamers from all over. While it didn’t become a repeated event, Nintendo did host mini-competitions afterward, and then brought back the World Championships in certain years, including for the 25th anniversary.
Fast forward a few console generations, and the arrival of the internet changed the game once again. Now, competitions could happen all over the place and with players from all over the world because all they needed was an internet connection. That gave birth to all manner of competitions and ideas, including Major League Gaming back in 2002, as well as EVO, which started as a minor competition back in the mid-90s, and is now THE dominant Esports competition for fighting games, including just having its latest one this past weekend.
Esports continues to grow, and that’s a good thing, as this is something that gamers can aspire to be a part of, regardless of the kinds of games they like to play. And that brings us all the way to the present…
#2 – The Current State of Esports
So, what is the state of Esports right now? The answer is: pretty darn good.
When we said that Esports were growing massively, we weren’t lying, and we have numbers to back that up. For example, the overall Esports brand is worth about 3.5 BILLION according to Medium. Not to mention, between all the various competitions that are going on, they have an audience of about 600 million people! That’s more than numerous major league sports events with their viewership.
That’s often why you see all sorts of competitions featuring singular competitors or team-based events with all kinds of prize money. That’s not even counting the smaller events that likely happen every week all over the world.
Plus, there are even some game-specific leagues out there that have been going on for a while and have attempted to change the game in various ways. Sure, ones like the Overwatch League didn’t pan out, but others have been going strong.
One of the other reasons that the Esports brand as a whole continues to grow is that it’s never been simpler to watch players either in competition or just playing games to have fun. When you think about watching game streams, you know you can do it via YouTube, Twitch, and other platforms of that nature. So, if you just want to chill and see gamers at their peak doing their best to own others, it’s not that hard.
Plus, just when you think that the “standard games” for these competitions, like Counterstrike, Fortnite, and others, are getting a bit “boring” to enjoy now, new games like Marvel Rivals pop up, and suddenly you have new competitions that can focus on that game over others.
The beauty of Esports is in its versatility. You can pick a genre and see people go at it against one another, and then, when you’re ready to stop watching, you can! Each competition is its own entity and has its own community that supports it and wants it to thrive.
So long as that is nurtured, Esports isn’t going anywhere.
#3 – How Esports Can Continue To Grow
So, with Esports arguably being hotter than it ever has before, how can it continue to grow to ensure that mistakes of the past are literally the mistakes of the past?
The first step is to keep making competitions feel important. When you think about EVO, you KNOW that the best of the fighting game world will come together to duke it out and see who is best in the fighting game of their choice. Legendary battles and moments have come from events such as these. No matter the game or genre, if you have a tournament that brings in the best around, it needs to feel like a true event.
The second step is to make Esports events that are truly accessible to everyone. While it’s true that many events feature the “best of the best,” the fun factors shouldn’t be ignored here. There needs to be events and shows that are all about people who AREN’T dedicated diehard players who train every day to be the best around. Just let the people play the games they love to play and see how it goes. In that regard, companies like Nintendo should get back into this, especially since they’ve brought the hammer down on those who have tried to hold competitions with their games in the past.
The final step is to never stop evolving and keep looking for the “newest games” to bring more attention to the field. The reason that Marvel Rivals is talked about a lot right now is because it’s an incredible game that keeps growing its roster, and you could have many tournaments throughout its run, thanks to how many millions of people have been enjoying it. When new games of that nature come to pass, the Esports world needs to capitalize on it, and quickly. If you keep growing your fanbase and the reach you’re going for, it’ll be truly hard to bring the Esports genre down.
