Cloud Gilbert
Staff Reporter
Video games are a way to do things you never even thought of being able to do at home, such as playing as a famous basketball player in the big leagues, being a marine in a combat zone, becoming a being of immense power and being a world renowned bank robber. Due to coronavirus coming to fruition, people are forced to stay home. Thus creating a major rise in the video game player base and Esport tournaments.
Since the beginning of March, games have seen a major rise in player bases such as CSGO, which steam saw a spike of 206,165 player increase. With the release of Call of Duty: Warzone- Modern Warfare’s take on the battle royale genre, the game saw a rise of 6 million players in one day. Twitch, a streaming platform used by 56,4k channels and seen by 1.44m viewers, during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic saw a massive influx of viewers to Twitch. With average concurrent viewers increasing 12% year-on-year in March, this is the biggest year-on-year increase since August 2019. American stadiums have been quiet since the coronavirus silenced almost all sporting events. However, in the wake of this pandemic, competitions taking place in online arenas are fulfilling the entertainment departure.
A number of esports leagues, which over the past decade have increased their visibility and legitimacy by filling legendary arenas such as Madison Square Garden and Staples Center, are continuing their competitions by returning to their past reflections. Now they are streaming matches online on the gaming behemoths Twitch and YouTube. Pro leagues for games such as League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Overwatch and Call of Duty are now faced with an unasked-for opportunity to broaden their audience by showcasing their competitions to viewers who may prefer watching Major League Baseball, the NBA, the NHL or the NCAA basketball tournaments. The paused state of sports is giving people who have heard of esports but may not have been able to check them out a chance to do so. It also promotes opportunities for content creators, already celebrities to younger audiences, with a surge in younger viewers who have more time on their hands due to the closing of educational institutions.
Image Credit: Photo by Kelvin Ang on Unsplash
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