TOP 10 ESPORTS GAME OF 2018

What is esports ?

Esports also known as Electronic Sports is a form of competition using video games. The competition between professional players and team. As the video game culture, esports got their popularity increased from late 2000s until early 2010s when esports was a significant factor in the video game industry, which caused game developers to actively design a game toward a professional esports subculture. Finally esports industry still growing until 2019 with so many variant of esports game and esports league, and here are the top 10 esports game which triggered the hype around the esports arena.

  1. StarCraft II

This one of the best RTS in the world was  released in 2010, and almost a decades this game is success. As the oldest Blizzards Entertainment’s games on this list, StarCraft II quickly become one of the top esports game. StarCraft II had a perfect reception to get many players and viewers. Eventhough there are bigger esports today, StarCraft II continues to thrive and stable to be one of the best esports game to play. This RTS game still awarded more than $3.9M in 2018 on its tournament such StarCraft II World Championship.

  1. Call of Duty : World War II

            This First Person Shooter game was released in 2017, and its has it own rival like Battlefield 1. In this list Battlefield 1 is not included to be the one top esports game. This game is better in storyline then its rival. Activision had their own Call Of Duty World League, and the World War II get the spotlight for one year in esport before it replaced by Call of Duty : Black Ops 4. Eventhough not so many pro player didn’t like the historical shooter series, it still provided the battleground for more than $4M for prizepool.

 

  1. Hearthstone

            As we know, this Blizzard Entertainment’s competitive card game is free to play. It can be played online and it’s a digital collectible card game. Hearthstone is originally subtitled Heroes of Warcraft because it is built upon the existing lore of Warcraft series. Hearthstone features cross-platform play that allow players compete with another players in any device such a mobile or desktop. In 2018, the biggest prize pool is $4.7M, what a big number for a card game by Blizzard Entertainment.

  1. Heroes of the Storm

            Again and again Blizzard Entertainment had their games to be one of the best esports game in 2018. This MOBA game, originally named as Blizzard DOTA and later renamed as Blizzard All-Stars and then changed it again into Heroes of the Storm. It features characters from games previously introduce by Blizzard including Diablo, StarCraft, WarCraft, and Overwatch. Although         it’s new in  the esport scene, it’s quickly become one of the most rewarding games for esports team with the biggest prize pool is $5.2M

  1. Overwatch

            For one more time Blizzard’s game named Overwatch listed in the top 10 esports game of 2018. Overwatch is a fast paced-FPS games that features six players compete with another six players as a team. The objective is to protect the selected zone from enemy capture. As we knew, Blizzard is one of the leading esports game developer, has made a new inovation for Overwatch. Eventhough this game is new, there is so many young-talented players make their way to be a professional players in Overwatch league that has the biggest prize pool for $6.5M.

           

  1. PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUND

            PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUND or we can call it PUBG is a battle royale shooter game. Well, in fact PUBG was early access in steam for 9 months until it was officially released in December 2017. Eventhough it was an early access game, PUBG had broke a record to beat DOTA 2 players who online at the same time. After it was officially released, PUBG Corporation add some major and minor update to improve their game. They released their game in many platform such mobile, console, and desktop. In 2018 PUBG Corp got serious about esports and make an esports competition named PUBG Global Invitational. The biggest prize pool for this esports game is $7M.

  1. League of Legends

            League of Legends or we can call it as LoL, .is another MOBA from RIOT Games that listed to be one of the best esports game in 2018. This game was inspired by WarCraft III and DOTA. Released in 2009 and until now, it is still become one of the most popular games in the esports industry. Year by year the League of Legends World Championship tournaments is increasing in viewers and prize pool. The biggest prize pool for this game is $14.4M

 

  1. Fortnite

            This battle royale game is very unique. It’s not only battle royale it’s more than a battle royale. Because of its gameplay, Fortnite became popular and finally turn into a rival for PUBG. Epic Games launched this game in 2017 after recognizing the explosion of the battle royale genre and then in 2018 the company announce an esports competition. With the help of streamers and celebrities like Marshmello, this free to play battle-royale become more very popular and it has bigger prize pool for the tournament, it’s about $20M.

  1. Counter-Strike : Global Offensive

            Counter Strike is an old FPS games introduced by Valve Corporation in  1999. This Global Offensive is one of the popular series of CS. CSGO was released in 2012 and since then it growth and become one of the most popular esports game. In December 2018 the developer add a new battle-royale mode because in 2018, battle royale was very popular and they finally make CSGO free to play. Many teams compete in a tournaments or even league to win some money and trophy. Every year the prize pool of the tournaments growing bigger and bigger. The biggest prize pool for this game is $22.6M.

 

  1. DOTA 2

            Finally, the first place of the top 10 esports game is DOTA 2 developed by Valve Corporation. This free to play MOBA is sequel to DOTA, and WarCraft. DOTA 2 is one of the most popular competitive games and it’s a pioneer for esports industry. Since it released in 2013 Valve conduct The International, a DOTA 2 Championship esports tournament. Each year the prize pool of The International is increasing and the highest prize pool for all esports tournament is held by The International for $25.5M

 

That’s all about the top 10 esports game, and an honorable mention to Arena of Valor, Rocket League, FIFA 18, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege.

Thank you.