💡Decentralized Esports

We all know it: esports is huge. The esports market reached a value of nearly $1,070.5 million in 2020, having increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.0% since 2015. As competitive video games continue to integrate into popular culture, the market is expected to grow from $1,070.5 million in 2020 to $2,108.6 million in 2025 at a rate of 14.5%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.6% from 2025 and reach $3,993.2 million in 2030.

But what those statistics fail to encapsulate is the problem that is happening in the core of esports itself. In the current market, Esports are centralized through large corporations controlling the ecosystem, the platforms, the games, and even the tournaments. Central control over the esports ecosystem restricts the ability of players to give a voice in deciding the policies regarding the game and its ecosystem, while most of the time the policies directly impact their life and career as esports athletes.

There were cases where teams and athletes who have trained hard and dedicated their life to the game were forced to disband when the game publishers implemented unfair policies like restricting pro league only for several teams and asking them to pay millions of dollars to join or even abruptly stop the game altogether.

Compounding this, there have been cases where the tournament organizers also failed to fulfill their owed responsibilities to the teams and athletes. For instance, where the tournaments are suddenly cancelled by the organizers despite the teams and players already paying the participation fee, or cases where the tournament organizer was not able to pay the promised tournament prizes. This situation urgently demands a more secure and transparent tournament system to ensure the continuity of esports players.