Taking eSports to the Next Level
Hi MUSUREs!
You may have guessed it already, but here we’re all very passionate about gaming. And what better place to showcase our passion than through eSports?
The community has nearly 20 years of evolution within the gaming space, growing steadily to the point of becoming a million-dollar industry, but we think that Web3 and blockchain technology could take it even further.
Where are we now?
Esports is a fascinating phenomenon. It compasses any and all competitive video game and leagues and had its first televised event in 2006, when a Halo 2 tournament was broadcast on the USA Network.
That was just the beginning though, the rise of streaming and video social media like Twitch and YouTube in the early 2010s pushed professional gamers forward, turning them into their own breed of celebrities who could easily engage with their audiences and build large, dedicated fan bases.
Today, eSports are a juggernaut, amounting to hundreds of yearly tournaments, millions in investment from gaming companies and streaming platforms and even gigantic live events like the 2013 League of Legends World Championship which sold out the Staples Center in Los Angeles within minutes of tickets going on sale.
But there’s still much to work around, although high-end tournament prices easily go into the hundreds of dollars, we’re still talking about a select few, most members of the community don’t see high rewards coming from the industry.
As decentralized spaces like Web3 evolve further, giving players complete ownership over their characters, assets, skills and more, we could see a new Esports explosion similar to what happened with social media streaming, giving more gamers the chance to grow and earn within their community.
Building new infrastructure
Shifting into a broader eSports space will take some work, but the bases for this new world of gaming are already being built and financed by several large investors and even whole countries.
Consider Atmos Labs, for example, who has already raised US$11 million in seed funding to develop metaverse-native sports for its virtual world through blockchain technology and play-to-earn (P2E) mechanics. The goal is to fuse the innovation of eSports with the culture and passion around traditional sports to create something completely unique.
Founder Kevin Beauregard said he believes “People are going to congregate around the spectacle of competition in the metaverse just like they do in the physical world”.
Another group that has taken interest in this regard is leading play-to-earn infrastructure provider Ignite Tournaments, who have taken to building the world’s first P2E tournament organization and streaming app.
The platform will provide a variety of tools that will make it easy for anyone to organize an eSports tournament complete with live streaming, chat, on-chain voting, gaming guild management, sponsorship prizing, automated match adjudication and player payouts in cryptocurrencies and NFTs, among other things.
These types of projects are the ones putting in the work to create a more easy, transparent and democratic system that can truly break into the eSports industry, but the future holds much more.
What we can look forward to
It’s undeniable that although the eSports industry might not need blockchain, the technology is key to improve on some aspects that are dragging it down. And that’s why we’re so excited for all the future possibilities decentralized eSports could bring!
Professional gaming could become more accessible and streamlined through systems like blockchain-based public databases. This would be an easy way to showcase your statistics and rankings as a gaming portfolio, gaining access to possible sponsorships and an audience without having to climb up the popularity ranks on social media.
Other aspects like transparency and security could also be improved. Since blockchain is immutable, it would be a great tool for creating automated systems that prevent fraud and cheating, bringing more legitimacy and trust into the ecosystem.
We’re only at the beginning of this revolution in one of gaming’s largest industries, and there are still so many more possibilities! What do you think Web3 and blockchain could bring into the eSports world? We’d love to hear all about it.
Until next time!
MUSURE world
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