How Does a Game Become an Esport?

What is an Esport?

A video game can be deemed an Esport when it is played by professionals for prizes. Many popular games have evolved into Esports, but the most prominent include:

• League of Legends

• VALORANT

• Dota 2

• Call of Duty

• Counter-Strike

• Fortnite

Many of these games are multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games, while others are first-person shooter games. Some sports games, like EAFC (formerly FIFA), are also professional Esports, but they’re less common than strategy and shooter games.

How Does a Game Become an Esport?

There isn’t a precise science to the process. After all, there isn’t a central Esports body that governs the industry. Rather, each game has its own Esports ecosystem, which might be operated by the developer behind the game or by an Esports promotion company.

For example, Valve, one of the biggest game development studios in the world, is responsible for the Counter-Strike Major Championships.

The studio is also behind numerous tournaments and events throughout the calendar year. In other words, Valve is a big reason for Counter-Strike’s success and promotion as a prominent Esports game.

Key Factors for Esport Adaptation & Success

As there isn’t a step-by-step process that a game can take to become an Esport, it’s better to look at some of the key factors that may lead to a game’s evolution into an Esports ecosystem:

Playability and popularity

For a game to make it as an Esport, it must be extremely popular and highly playable by a vast community. Just look at the popularity of games like League of Legends and Fortnite and the huge global audiences they attract.

The biggest Esports games are often free to play with a vibrant community. Strategy is key to success, and games with extensive maps and discoverable features are extremely popular.

Watchability

For a title to make the transition from a popular video game to a successful Esports ecosystem, it must be watchable. In other words, it should have a good following on Twitch, YouTube, and other streaming platforms.

One of the main reasons for the success of games like League of Legends, Dota 2, and VALORANT is that people enjoy watching others play the game as much as they enjoy playing it themselves. This isn’t always true of video games, so some fall by the wayside and don’t make the grade.

Case in point – Counter-Strike and Call of Duty excel in Esports. They’re fast-paced and feature small-sided tactical games. Battlefield, which is just as popular from a player’s perspective, is nowhere near as engaging for spectators. After all, many Battlefield scenarios include 30+ players and are difficult to follow, so it’s never transitioned to successful Esport.

Esports Ecosystems: The key to success

If a popular video game is to make the transition to a professional Esport, someone must develop an ecosystem in which the game can exist, grow, and thrive. There are closed and open ecosystems for Esports, which operate in different ways.

Riot Games’ League of Legends is the perfect example of a closed Esports ecosystem. Riot controls practically everything, including invitations, tournament schedules, venues, prize money, and competition format. Naturally, this puts much work in the hands of the developers, and it’s often only the biggest, most cast-rich studios that can succeed.

Open Esports ecosystems, on the other hand, are sponsored and encouraged by the developers but include various stakeholders in the process. Though Valve became more hands-on in 2025 with new rules for all its Esports, the company has done a brilliant job of mastering the open Esports ecosystem, supporting numerous tournaments and events for Dota 2 and Counter-Strike games over the years.

No matter how the ecosystem exists, it’s fundamental to the success of a video game within an Esports setting. After all, Esports doesn’t have a FIFA or UEFA to govern different games and lay on special tournaments. This responsibility falls to the team behind the ecosystem, which is different for practically every Esport video game.

Esports Streaming & Betting

Video game studios are unsurprised by the huge success of the Esports scene. Millions of people play video games daily, and the competitive nature of Esports events incentivises the best players to compete for thousands (often millions) of dollars in prize money.

But there are many other ways to engage with professional Esports. As a fan, you can stream events on platforms like Twitch and YouTube for free. You can follow your favourite teams as they compete in the biggest events in the world, just like you would support a football team.

Owing to the growing popularity of Esports in the UK, you can now bet on all significant Esports events at Parimatch. Sign up today to bet on Counter-Strike, League of Legends, VALORANT, Call of Duty, and several other video games that have successfully become thriving Esports.

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