If ever a loved one belittled your video game obsession as the most significant waste of time, that person is either clueless or shortsighted. This assessment may be unduly harsh, but this opinion has some merit. Esports- the competitive multiplayer games, the competitive gaming offshoot of the video game industry- has grown enormous audiences, impressive cash purses, and sponsorships that allow top-flight players to make their hobbies a living. After a period that was understandable in postponing its resumption during the pandemic, returning in-person esports events attract huge crowds; Evo, for example, hosts massive crowds interested in fighting games.
What is a Great Esports Game?
Esports contains many popular games under the radar and in numerous genres. If you like shooting, you can shoot some caps on Call of Duty. Are you in the mood for a Battle Royale of epic proportions? PUBG has got you covered. Into sports? In merging the two worlds, the NBA and Take-Two Interactive, the super-popular NBA 2K video game series publisher, partnered to create the NBA 2K eLeague. In the esports world, there are video games and related scenes for everyone.
There may be too much choice. Far too many video games are available, with a competitive, multiplayer focus that makes getting started in playing or simply watching professional video gaming feel intimidating. Never fear, however: this guide to the best esports games should nudge you in the right direction. Every game going after that sweet esports money isn’t worth your time. And there are a whole lot of those.
How to Pick Your Favourite Esports Games
We have reviewed several of these esports-worthy titles, and we wholeheartedly recommend playing them. We also recommend checking out many of the titles live in our roundup of the best PC games, though we also throw a bone or two to console players.
To qualify for inclusion in this guide, a game must have official tournament support from its publisher. While we adore many smaller, community-backed efforts, the Tecmo Super Bowl community is incredible. We had to draw a line somewhere, lest nearly every competitive games be declared worthy.
However, here is the list of top esports games played by amateurs and professionals!
1. Apex Legends
This is one of the top esport games, and after releasing two excellent, if somewhat overlooked, Titanfall games, developer Respawn finally achieved the success it was always meant to have with the smash hit, battle royale shooter Apex Legends.
Set in the Titanfall universe, Apex Legends lets you play as agile mercenaries instead of bulky robots. The good news: these colourful characters come with loads of unique abilities. To name a couple, you can travel between dimensions such as Wraith or Cloak and create holograms such as Mirage. Clever communications tools keep the team coordinated, too.
Apex Legends’ fantastic pace is continued through its running tournaments: The Apex Legends Global Series. Check the schedule for the following events and view the genuinely massive prize pools.
2. Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0
The original Warzone proved that Call of Duty still had a lot to say to the fans of shooters in the increasingly crowded battle royale space. Warzone 2.0 is a full-on sequel launched alongside Modern Warfare II. Enjoy a new map (Building 21) and mode (DMZ).
The original Warzone still exists, and a series this mainstream won’t leave so many players behind without warning. However, version 2 is the newest hotness for top players who want to test their mettle in top tournaments.
3. Dota 2
“Easy to learn, hard to master.” It’s a mantra applied to everything from sports to video games. A few titles encapsulate it quite like Defense of the Ancients 2 (Dota 2), one of the world’s most popular multiplayer online battle arena games.
This free-to-play MOBA tasks you with selecting one of more than 100 playable Heroes to take to the battlefield, utilizing that character’s unique abilities, play style, and attributes to help your team achieve victory.
Sure, the MOBA genre proves inscrutable to viewers who are unfamiliar with the play mechanics. Still, the annual Dota 2 International has insane cash pots (more than $30 million) and stiff competition that makes the game an esport worth watching if you’re willing to learn the ropes.
4. Dragon Ball FighterZ
Beside Fist of the Northstar and Jo Jo’s Bizarre Adventure, there aren’t many anime properties as intrinsically suited to the fighting game treatment as the Dragon Ball series. Covering several series, movies, and generations of characters, Akira Toriyama’s manga-turned-anime-turned-game series is all about buff monkey men, humans, aliens, and androids trading blows in actual earth-shattering battles.
While that could be true in the Xenoverse games with their arena-brawling, Dragon Ball FighterZ brings some 3 on 3 tag-team fighting across a 2D plane in an attempt to show off one more reason Dragon Ball FighterZ holds promise as a most exciting piece of esports potential. The switch is just one thing that puts its beautiful design, super-intense action, and easy controls into what every player can hop into for super Saiyan rushes.
In addition to Evo, the anime fighter has an expanded competitive scene thanks to Bandai Namco’s Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour.
5. Fortnite
Fortnite is the battle royale game to beat. Epic Games confirmed in early 2020 that Fortnite hosted an incredible 12.3 million concurrent players in one record-breaking session, thanks to an in-game Travis Scott concert. Fortnite’s popularity is off the charts.
A lot is going for Fortnite, from approachable gameplay modes to bright and zany graphics, not to mention an excellent construction system. Combat is iffy, and microtransactions do nothing to enhance the experience, but it is free to play, so genre fans should at least try it out. The title is on virtually every platform that plays video games.
2019’s inaugural Fortnite World Cup saw 16-year-old Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf take home $3 million from a $30 million prize pool.
6. The King of Fighters XV
SNK’s latest entry in the long-running The King of Fighters series is one of the best competitive fighting games on the market and a big step up from its predecessor. No wonder it was a main event at Evo 2023.
KOFXV has a creative new combat system, aan wesome aesthetic with the colourful stages and ray tracing, and the extensive, varied roster that we expect from the franchise. Matchmaking occasionally is unreliable, but excellent rollback netcode lifts online play-up.
7. League of Legends
League of Legends, the free-to-play, multiplayer online battle arena title from Riot Games, is the best MOBA game you can buy. Its gameplay incorporates role-playing, tower defence, and real-time strategy—a combination that differentiates it from the many cookie-cutter MOBAs that have flooded the market.
League of Legends is accessible; however, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have complex core elements. The way skill-shots, cooldowns, unique abilities, and equipment are all intertwined makes League of Legends the face of MOBA gaming, outclassing the likes of Dota 2 and Heroes of the Storm.
In esports, it is sponsored through the League of Legends Championship Series. This game has more than $2 million in prizes from the competition.
8. Mortal Kombat 1
With Mortal Kombat 1, the eponymously gory fight game finally breaks free from its infamously stiff mechanics. Thanks to acrobatic and creative air combos plus tag-team use of Kameo fighters, the MK 1 is as delightful to play on as it could be for horrifying onlookers to watch. Doubling up as two characters is a new advantage that skilled brawlers should consider when making competitive choices; besides, that rich single player mode offers many approaches to practice playing before facing those live foes.
Mortal Kombat 1 is supported by NetherRealm Studios via its Mortal Kombat Pro Kompetition esports initiative.
9. Overwatch 2
Shooters don’t have to be dark, gritty, or realistic. Cartoony fun has its place, even in gun-filled PC games. That place has been filled by Valve’s Team Fortress 2 for nearly a decade, but now Blizzard’s taken the reins with Overwatch. All Team Fortress 2 hallmarks were taken: colourful levels, multiplayer game modes of fighting and defending based on teams, cool characters and their different kinds of play – and added with a few twists of MOBA.
Overwatch 2 supplants the original game that you can’t play anymore. Fortunately, it remains a thoroughly enjoyable first-person shooter filled with mechanical variety, thanks to the many heroes and classes in the game. As could be expected, it has spawned a highly successful esports scene. Blizzard supports the Overwatch competitive scene with several initiatives, including the Overwatch World Cup.
10. PlayerUnknown Battleground (PUBG)
Like many other games in the open-world survival or first-person shooter genres, the primary goal of PUBG is to be the last player alive. However, PUBG doesn’t fit the genre norms. It takes some of the best aspects of open world games, combines it with the mechanics of a good first-person shooter, and accommodates a player base typical of MMOs.
It’s also well-balanced in its gameplay elements. For instance, you are allowed to drop wherever you prefer on the map, everyone spawns without a weapon, and a massive, deadly shimmering blue dome confines the playable area periodically. It is tense but highly entertaining.
The PUBG Global Invitational boasts a prize pool of over $2 million.
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FAQs
Ans – The most popular genres of esports games include multiplayer online battle arenas (MOBA), real-time strategy, and first-person shooter.
Ans – Some of the real-time strategy games are: Star Craft: Brood War, Warcraft 3, and Starcraft 2.
Ans – Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Park Jie-won coined the term “Esports” at the founding ceremony of the 21st Century Professional Game Association (currently Korean e-Sports Association) in 2000.
Ans – eSports fandom growth is rapidly outpacing traditional sports through digital innovation, allowing fans to directly interact with players and participate in gaming experiences, further fueled by community-building platforms and social media.
