What’s the Most Popular Esports Game?

Esports games are becoming increasingly popular. But which ones are the most popular? We take a look at the most popular esports games and what makes them so popular.

Introduction

With the rise of Twitch and other streaming platforms, esports has become more popular than ever. But which game is the most popular?

There are a few different ways to measure popularity in esports. One is by looking at the prize pools for major tournaments. Another is by looking at the number of viewers for major tournaments. And finally, you can look at the number of active players in a game.

Based on prize pools, the most popular esports game is Dota 2. The International, Dota 2’s annual championship tournament, had a prize pool of over $34 million in 2018, making it the largest prize pool in esports history.

If you look at viewership, the most popular esports game is League of Legends. The League of Legends World Championship had 99.6 million unique viewers in 2018, making it the most-watched esports event ever.

And if you look at active players, the most popular game is probably Fortnite: Battle Royale. While we don’t have exact numbers for Fortnite’s player base, estimates range from 30 million to 200 million active players.

League of Legends

League of Legends is one of the most popular esports games. It is a free-to-play, online multiplayer game that was released in 2009. The game has multiple game modes, including ranked matches, casual matches, and tournaments. Players can choose from over 120 different champions to play as, each with their own unique abilities and playstyles.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Released in 2012, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed by Hidden Path Entertainment and Valve Corporation. It is the fourth game in the Counter-Strike series.

CS:GO pits two teams against each other: the Terrorists and the Counter-Terrorists. Both sides are tasked with planting or defusing a bomb, or rescuing or guarding hostages. The game has nine modes, all of which are playable online, including Competitive, Casual, Bomb Defuse, Hostage Rescue, Demolition, Arms Race, Wingman, Flying Scoutsman and Danger Zone.

As of March 2020, CS:GO has over 850 thousand players worldwide. The game is particularly popular in Europe and North America.

Dota 2

Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game developed and published by Valve Corporation. The game is a sequel to Defense of the Ancients (DotA), which was a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment’s Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion pack, The Frozen Throne. Dota 2 is played in matches between two teams that consist of five players, with both teams occupying their own separate base on the map. Each of the ten players independently controls a powerful character, known as a “hero”, who all have unique abilities and differing styles of play. During a match, players collect experience points and items for their heroes in order to successfully defeat the opposing team’s heroes in player versus player combat. A team wins by being the first to destroy the other team’s “Ancient”, a large structure located within their base.

Development of Dota 2 began in 2009, when IceFrog, lead designer of Defense of the Ancients, was hired by Valve to create a modernized remake for them in the Source game engine. Dota 2 was officially released for Windows, OS X, and Linux-based personal computers via the digital distribution platform Steam in July 2013, following a Windows-only open beta phase that began two years prior. The game is fully free-to-play with no heroes needing to be bought or otherwise unlocked. To maintain it, Valve supports Dota 2 via both major content patches and microtransactions that allow for additional cosmetic items to be used within the game.

Overwatch

At the time of this writing, Overwatch is the most popular game in the world with over 30 million players. The game is a first-person shooter that pits two teams of six players against each other in ship-to-ship combat. The game is fast-paced and action-packed, and it’s easy to see why it’s so popular.

Conclusion

The most popular esports games in the world are ones that offer a combination of top-notch gameplay, a large competitive scene, and plenty of opportunities for spectatorship. This trifecta has allowed games like League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Dota 2 to dominate the esports landscape for years. And while there are a number of newer games hoping to unseat these titans, it’s going to be tough for any one game to take down all three at once.