The time for esports’ professionalization is now

With traditional sports and entertainment evaporating overnight amid the COVID-19 outbreak last spring, esports became the solution for stakeholders across many industries to ensure the show did indeed go on. This resulted in the injection of professional gaming into the social mainstream, providing hours of entertainment for content-starved audiences while playerbases skyrocketed as a means of staying connected during a time when many were apart.

While the surge of esports during the pandemic has proved competitive gaming is more than capable of living up to the hype, it also highlighted that the industry isn’t quite yet ready for its primetime role in mainstream media. The accelerated production and heightened attention on esports exposed some of the fundamental cracks in the foundation and many of its pain points. To address these, we need to prioritize professionalization, especially in regards to player care, competitive integrity, and growing diversity and inclusivity.