A LIST OF COMPETITVE E-SPORTS GAMES

 A list of competitive e-sports games 

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog, I'm glad you could make it! In today’s post we will be going over some of the most competitive and active games in the e-sports industry and giving our opinion. 

It’s no secret that e-sports has taken over, with the likes of multi-million cash pots for prizes, exclusive rewards and lucrative sponsorship deals for the lucky winner(s). The already established e sports teams such as Faze are constantly competing between themselves for the top spot every year and this brings a whole new feeling to gaming as you are playing for high stakes, and one wrong move could prove fatal; the ultimate high risk, high reward scenario. 

DISCLAIMER: THIS LIST IS RANKED BASED ON MY OPINION OF THE GAMES AND IS NOT TO BE TAKEN AS A FACTUAL LIST 

1. Rainbow Six Siege 

A game that needs no introduction, Rainbow Six Siege (or R6 as it's more commonly known) is a 5v5 tactical shooter released in 2015 that relies heavily on teamwork and communication but most importantly, sharp reflexes. The game involves a team of attackers trying to infiltrate buildings which are being defended by a team of 5, sort of like Team Fortress 2 (TF2). The consistent gunshots and explosions, not to mention the high intensity gameplay, and it’s not hard to see why quick reflexes would be a prized skill in-game, although it is the not the ‘be all end all’ as some may think. This is because every character (operator) you play has a unique ability that can aid their team be it in recon, brute strength or healing, and this can help to map out the area before entering, effectively making pure reflex take a backseat for a more relaxed, thought-out game-plan. However, this won't always be the case as each game will be different in how it plays, and that is one of the beauties of the game as no two will be the same. 

This is another reason R6 Siege is one of the biggest e-sports communities as the replay ability is ripe and brings viewers back for more action. Furthermore, due to high viewer counts almost daily (on average 20,000), it allowed R6 Siege to give out an estimated £30 million in total throughout competition prizes and cash pots. 

If that doesn't scream MASSIVE for a video game, then I honestly don’t know what classifies, it’s big for a reason and those reasons listed above are just a small portion of why. 

2. Fortnite Battle Royale 

If there ever was a game that captured millions of players worldwide and had the world in a chokehold, then that game would be Fortnite. Released in September 2017, Fortnite’s Battle Royale mode catapulted the relatively small company Epic Games into Activision territory, marking a shift in the gaming industry. As it was a free game, there was no downside to downloading and in a time where battle royales were still new, it resonated with so many. This could be down to many reasons with one main one being the ability to build to protect yourself from fights. This was seen as massive due to it never being done before at a scale such as this, or at such a high level. Also, the children-friendly art style and little to no graphic details in the game allowed parents to feel comfortable with letting their kids play which only further drove engagement to the game. 

Personally, I have played a fair amount of Fortnite and to deny it a spot in a competitive gaming list would be insane, the skill gap at times felt non-existent as everyone got good very quickly and this drove up the demand for competitive tournaments and cash prizes. As such, this became true and allowed people to compete for money, with Fortnite now having given away an estimated total of £190 million in prize money.  

Adding on, it recorded an estimated 6.1 million concurrent players in November 2023, a whopping 6 years after it came out which just further shows the influence of the game going into the years after release as it is no easy task to stay relevant in the gaming scene. 

3. Rocket League 

If you're into football AND cars, this is the game for you! Another game that is now owned by Epic Games, it has been transformed into a massive e-sports community and this could be partly due to the company acquiring the rights to the game in 2019 and making the game free to play in September 2020 (seems to be a running trend here with Epic). The gameplay is really just that; football and cars. You can choose between a multitude of casual or ranked modes ranging from solo to trios, depending on your preference. 

Most matches last 5 minutes, unless the scoreline is a draw after the timer runs out, in which it will go into an infinite overtime until a team scores the winning goal. This is a great addition in the game as it gets rid of stalemates and guarantees a winning side at the end of every match. 

In terms of tournaments and prize money, Rocket League has awarded an estimated £26 million with the highest at once being around £2 million, a hefty prize pool for a game! It drew in 1 million concurrent players in 2020 which was the most in the game's lifetime, and still to this day maintains just under half of that which proves it has maintained its relevancy in the gaming world. 

And there we have it that is my personal 3 most active e-sports games list! 

I hope you enjoyed the read as it is the main reason I create these posts and if there are any requests for future blog topics, feel free to leave a comment below and I will take all advice and ideas into consideration!  

Until next time folks.