Today eSports involve generations of players and enthusiasts and the market is constantly growing. In 2019, according to the Newzoo site , eSports will reach revenues of 1.1 billion dollars with a growth compared to 2018 of 25%. These are certainly mind-boggling figures but they clearly reflect today’s reality made up of streaming and events from thousands of viewers. However, eSports also started from the bottom and their origin dates back to more than 20 years ago.
In those days the reality was very different from what we are used to today, tournaments were organized locally and there was no infrastructure that allowed players to connect all over the world. We then retrace the history of eSports through the various most significant titles that contributed to their origin and development.
Quake – 1996
The first title in history to see a competitive tournament with thousands of players was Quake , a FPS developed by id Software . Game creator John Camarck created a tournament called ” Red Annihilation ” in May 1997 which saw the participation of 2000 players. Of all of them, only 16 made it to the final stage of the tournament, with the Ferrari owned by Camarck at stake. The success of the event gave great popularity to Quake and led to the founding of the CPL ( Cyberathlete Professional League) one of the first professional videogame tournament organizations.
Starcraft – 1999
At the end of the 90s there was a boom in releases and news in the world of video games. Quake had started a revolution in this industry and its baton was taken up by a Blizzard title that made history: Starcraft . The game belonged to the genre of RTS (Real Time Strategy) the strategy in real time. Close to the 2000s with the release of the Brood War expansion , Starcraft became the most played game of the moment and led to the birth of local tournaments around the world. The boom was particularly present in Korea where internet cafes multiplied in a short timeand video games became an integral part of Korean youth culture. From Starcraft onwards, Korea has become the leading nation of esports and competitive gaming reaching levels that the rest of the world has only seen years later.
Age of Empires II – 1999
Another title that forms the foundation of eSports is definitely Age of Empires II: The Age of Kingdoms . The title was developed by Enseble Studios and together with Starcraft represented the genesis of competitive RTS. In fact, in 2000 the spread of video games led to the creation of the World Cyber Games , the largest tournament of the eSports era. The WCG at the time represented the video game Olympics and among the main titles, in addition to Starcraft and Quake III, there was Age of Empires II. Over the years, the Age of Empires sequels have remained faithful to the competition, representing one of the RTS par excellence.
Unreal Tournament – 2000
The undisputed star of the competitive FPS of the early 2000s is certainly Unreal Tournament (UT) the game developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes . The title was foreshadowed as a Quake III Arena competitor. Its global success was linked to the graphics engine used, precisely the Unreal Engine , which represented a revolution from the point of view of graphics and game physics. UT included several challenge modes, from classic deathmatchesto capture modes, becoming the precursor of all these modes that have been revived in the FPS and subsequent shooters. Unreal Tournament was one of the most important eSports titles of the time, becoming the most played FPS in a few years, even beating Quake and taking part in the WCG for 5 years in a row.
Counter Strike – 1999 to present
The first truly competitive team-based eSport in history was Counter Strike , Valve’s FPS released in 1999. The global success of Counter Strike has allowed it to be the longest-running FPS series in eSports, renewing itself every year to date. In a scenario where all competitive games were single-player, the novelty represented by the team combat of Counter Strike did not go unnoticed. Thanks to this title, the world of eSports saw the creation of dedicated teams and multigaming for the first time . The idea of the gaming house was born precisely in those years due to the increasingly marked need to have a team that was close-knit and united. Even today, the latest title in the Counter Strike (CS GO) series is firmly among the most active games in international competitions.
Warcraft III – 2002
A title that has represented the history of eSports for the amount of players who have played it is certainly Warcraft III. The game is an RTS developed by Blizzard and released in 2002. It immediately achieved the record of copies sold over 3 million units during the year . The game was particularly popular in China, with more than 500,000 Chinese taking part in the Warcraft qualifiers for the 2006 CWG. The Chinese eSports market grew exorbitantly in those years and Warcraft III was one of the first titles for which players were even paid . The success of the Warcraft series then prompted Blizzard to create the series ofWorld of Warcraft , the mainstay of MMORPGs , as well as the most played card game in eSports or Hearthstone .
FIFA – 1996 to present
A title that has never been lacking in all the biggest eSports events held is the FIFA football simulator developed by Electronic Arts. The FIFA series has its roots back in 1996 even if the first real FIFA that made an impact on the esports scene was FIFA 2000 . In the 2000s, in fact, all competitive video-game competitions included the FIFA tournament. Although it has never achieved dizzying numbers compared to other titles, in the field of FIFA sports video games it has always had a place on the throne. In the years when eSports have spread and new leagues were born, FIFA has never failed and in 2004 saw the birth of the FIFA eWorld Cupor the video-play version of the football world cup. Today FIFA is stable in the eSports landscape and national and international leagues are always on the rise.
