The global esports phenomenon looks set to continue at a rate of knots following its recent explosion into mainstream popularity. Now, sports fans are nearly as likely to survey offers on odds pertaining to headline esports events as they would an upcoming premier league match, and sales of gaming-focused laptops and even smartphones are through the roof.
With 2023 looking set to be competitive gaming’s biggest year ever, we thought we’d take a look at which titles look set to dominate headlines, prize pools, and Twitch’s streaming toplists over the next twelve months.
League of Legends Continues to Reign Supreme
Riot Games’ League of Legends has come out on top in viewer numbers for several years, and in 2023 that is unlikely to change. Of course, it’s entirely possible that a new game could go viral and temporarily knock League off its top spot, as Free Fire did back in 2020 – but this was a noteworthy anomaly.
League’s long term investment, organic grassroots competitive scene, and expansion into mobile thanks to spin-off Wild Rift, all look set to keep the premier esports title at peak popularity for 2023.
2023: The Year Mobile Esports Breaks Through?
The mobile esports sector is big business and represents the largest growth area for the industry by a significant margin. With mobile esports already surpassing PC and console gaming in popularity in the far east, the growing relevance of mobile esports cannot be ignored.
Several new titles, from Free Fire to Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, have begun to command impressive viewer figures and prize-pools to boot, and this trend will only continue over the next year.
Dota 2 on Track To Retain Prize Pool Preeminence
Prize pools in global esports are growing at an impressive rate year-on-year as greater investment, sponsorship and attention floods the sport. More games than ever are now posting potential winnings north of $10 million. Of these, Arena of Valor is particularly noteworthy. It is the only purely mobile esport to offer prizes this high – $18 million in 2022, making it the third most valuable title.
But this still pales in comparison to the prize pools commanded by Dota 2’s The International, which, through its unique crowdfunding model, has claimed the top spot for over a decade. Last year broke all records again, with $32 million on the line, and you can rest assured that The International 2023 will hope to eclipse this sum once more.
