Survey says e-sports fans attend live events for the community and atmosphere

In a short few years, e-sports has become a huge global phenomenon. And fans are going to large events in ever-increasing numbers. It might seem strange for people to pay for an event where they watch other people play games, but those fans say that they’re in it for the community of fellowship with other gamers and because of the atmosphere, according to a survey by ticketing marketplace Eventbrite.

The e-sports fans are a dedicated group, turning titles like League of Legends into the most played games on the Internet. The new report shows how much of a cultural shift live gaming events are creating in gamers, who used to be more of a sedentary and solitary group, at least based on the stereotypes. How dedicated are they? 38 percent said they were willing to travel to another country to attend an e-sports event.