With their recent popularity, eSports and competitive gaming culture is attracting more and more young people. Breaking into this world and becoming a “cyber athlete” is no longer the dream of a few. The question then that many ask themselves once they have acquired the will to immerse themselves in eSports titles is this: How much does it cost to play competitive video games?
The answer is not obvious and clearly depends on several factors . Let’s start with the premise that the concept of “eSport” is not to be understood as if it were a game category. Saying that a title is an eSport is not the same as saying “This is a shooter, this is a fighting game”. Shooter or fighting games for example are categories in which games are enclosed according to their type. An eSport title can be of one category rather than another. What makes an eSport title is “competitiveness” . A competitive video game accompanied by official tournaments and by users who compete for a ranking on a daily basis is considered an eSport.
Can eSports games be played for free?
From the premise that we have made, it is therefore clear that the eSports titles are many and of every type. This means that there are games for consoles and others for PC. Well today most of the eSports titles are completely free. Some games, however, especially those for consoles, are not free but must be purchased. To date, however, there is a fact that expresses a lot of the direction that is taking in this environment: The most played eSports titles in the world are free. We are talking about games like League of Legends , Dota2, CS-Go and Starcraft 2. These titles together represent today practically 80% of the game volume.of eSports. Furthermore it must be considered that to these are added two other titles that are the most played of the moment, let’s talk about Fortnite and Apex Legends .
The reason why we have mentioned them separately is due to the fact that they do not yet have an organized competitive structure but they are moving in this direction for the future. We also remember that both Apex Legends and Fortnite are free titles for both PC and console . We can therefore say that when the first eSports competitions are made official also for these FPS , about 90% of the most played eSports titles will be free. The small remainder of competitive video games that aren’t free are some titles mainly for consoles. For example games like FIFA have decent playing volumes as wellofficial competitions but must be purchased and can not be downloaded for free. The same goes for most fighting games like Tekken or Street Fighter which, although with smaller volumes, have their own eSports competitions. The price of these titles normally varies between € 35 and € 70.
What do you pay for in eSports titles?
Although, as mentioned, playing eSports titles is in most cases free, many games still have content that can be purchased in-game . The same category that unites eSports is precisely that of “Free to play” which literally means “Free to play” . However this does not mean that there are no purchasable contents, on the contrary there are and they concern the aesthetic aspect most of the time. The concept behind eSports is competition, which is why for these titles the content that can be purchased does not generally affect the game and performance. Esports are philosophically the opposite of ” Pay to win” or those games where whoever pays the most wins.
What you can buy in most cases are the so-called “skins” . Skins are purchasable costumes or appearances for both characters and weapons or other game elements. Every game now has its own “shop” section where you can buy it using the free game currency that can be obtained simply by playing. Then there is the “premium” currency of the game obtainable by converting real money which gives access to the various contents of the store. In the various MOBAs each character has a compartment of purchasable skins and these have an exclusively aesthetic value, they do not in any case alter the game parameters.or and do not give any kind of bonus. Also for FPS you can buy content such as costumes for your character, aesthetics for weapons or armor and new logos or icons.
Because the main eSports are all free
The fact that all the most played eSports titles are free is no accident. Already the volume of users that reaches a “Free to play” game compared to a “Pay to play” is clearly greater . If you think for example of the Fortnite phenomenon, you can see how this has ousted the then PUBG which was the battle royale par excellence as well as the most played. Among the main reasons for this overtaking was undoubtedly the fact that Fortnite was free . A free game allows everyone to become a pro player even from scratch. It does not require a portfolio but only skill and perseverance . The success of eSports is closely linked to their free usability.
To be competitive, a game must be balanced . Balance in eSports games is essential and is why patch after patch the game changes all the time. This is why there is no purchasable content in competitive games that provides match statistics bonuses. Obviously, as we have specified, the discussion applies to the main eSports titles, some titles that have a smaller market but which are recognized as eSports provide purchases that also help in the game. The trend, however, is quite clear: eSport = free play.This equation, especially in recent times, is repeated with constancy. By now, every production house that plans to land on the eSports market knows that making a free game is the basis of success.
