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For most of us, video games are just a bit of fun – a way to distract our minds from the world, decompress after work or study, or enjoy time with friends. For some, though, gaming offers additional benefits and even career potential.
Enter the world of eSports, where the stakes are real, the skills are sharp, and the games are treated with the same attitude as physical sports.
If you haven’t been paying attention, eSports are more than just a fringe interest – they’re a massive, multi-billion dollar industry.
So, what’s behind the rise of eSports? And are eSports real sports at all? To investigate these questions and more, we’re chatting with two of Deakin University’s eSports experts: Dr Chintha Kaluarachchi and Dr Chandima Wickramatunga.
What exactly are eSports? The clue is in the name: eSports are ‘electronic sports’.
According to Kaluarachchi and Wickramatunga, there’s some debate over the exact definition of eSports, but they point to the The Routledge Handbook of Esports (2025) definition as a starting point, which calls eSports ‘organised and codified competition between human players using video games’.
‘This definition captures what makes eSports unique: the structure of formal competition, combined with the real-time skill and decision-making of human players across diverse genres and platforms,’ says Kaluarachchi.
It’s important to remember that eSports differ from regular, casual gaming in some key ways, and share similarities with traditional sports. ‘It involves professional players, sponsored teams, structured leagues, big-name brands, and a dedicated global fanbase,’ says Kaluarachchi. ‘In many ways, it mirrors traditional sports with training, strategy, high-pressure matches, and international recognition.’
eSports aren’t just big – they’re huge. ‘In 2025, it’s projected eSports will reach hundreds of millions of fans and billions in revenue, with professional players, huge sponsorships, and global tournament circuits that rival traditional sports in popularity and production value,’ says Kaluarachchi.
With revenue projected to go beyond $5 billion USD by 2027, it’s fair to say that eSports are sports with mainstream-level popularity. And while just about any game can transcend its casual roots and become an eSport, the biggest eSports games include titles such as:
eSports are more than niche sports in 2025, with player participation taking the industry from the basement to the big time. There are plenty of players putting serious hours into eSports.
‘By 2025, the number of eSports players worldwide is expected to reach 650 million, and that figure is projected to grow to over 720 million by 2027,’ says Wickramatunga. ‘By 2025, there are over 318 million dedicated eSports enthusiasts, up from just 215 million in 2020, while another 322.7 million will be occasional viewers, showcasing how mainstream competitive gaming has become.’
And, because the industry has grown to such a huge size and mainstream popularity, some players have even been able to turn professional, making careers alongside traditional industry roles like animation. If you ever dreamt of playing video games for a living, consider these players to be truly living the dream:
It’s not just player participation on the rise, either. Just like with traditional sports, eSports has grown on the back of dedicated fans and spectators who may or may not play themselves – they just love to watch. As the industry has grown, so have opportunities for people to watch eSports.
Games like League of Legends, Fortnite, Dota 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Overwatch command huge audiences, both in-person (with some like LoL filling stadiums) and streamed on platforms like Twitch. It adds up to impressive audience numbers, with single events like the League of Legends 2024 World Championship drawing more than 6 million viewers out of some 318 million eSports fans worldwide.
While some video games are ‘active’, eSports don’t usually happen in the physical world – at least, not in the way traditional sports do. They also lack physical exertion and the sorts of athletic performances of traditional sports. It begs the question, then: are eSports really sports?
‘Supporters of eSports point out that it shares many of the same structures and systems as mainstream sports,’ says Kaluarachchi. ‘The industry boasts professional players, organised teams and leagues, sponsorship deals, media coverage, and massive fan followings. In fact, eSports marketing strategies often mirror those used in traditional sports, reinforcing the idea that, in practice, eSports behaves very much like a traditional sport.’
While it might be hard to convince some sporting purists that eSports are true sports, the same isn’t true of sporting organisations themselves. Teams like the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA now have an affiliated eSports team, while the University of California, Irvine has eSports as part of its athletics department. While this might not prove the eSports are ‘real’ sports, it does show that they’re at least finding respect and interest within traditional sports organisations.
Whether eSports are actual sports or not, the industry has a sports-like problem.
For Kaluarachchi and Wickramatunga, there are growing concerns about toxicity within eSports. Toxicity or toxic behaviour can include actions like verbal abuse, trolling and harassment, and it’s become a real issue for the world of eSports. 68% of multiplayer gamers have reported threats, stalking, or long-term harassment, and 52% have experienced harassment based on identity factors like gender, race, or religion.
‘It doesn’t just ruin a match, 54% of players quit after dealing with toxic behaviour, while 38% avoid multiplayer altogether because of the stress,’ says Wickramatunga. ‘As eSports continues to grow, tackling toxic behaviour isn’t just important — it’s essential to keeping the space safe, fair, and fun for everyone.’
If anything can show the world that eSports are true sports, it’s representation in the Olympics. It’s no pipe dream, either. the International Olympic Committee debuted the Olympic Esports Series in 2023, while the inaugural Olympic Esports Games is set to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2027, meaning that, in one sense, eSports will be in the Olympics. It marks a big step forward for eSports in mainstream sport.
‘The IOC is partnering with the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC) and the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) which will serve as Founding Partner,’ says Kaluarachchi. ‘Together, they aim to bridge esports and traditional sports, while developing fair qualification systems, ensuring competitive integrity, and aligning global standards.’
The roster of eSports for the Olympic Esports Games has yet to be finalised, so we don’t know which eSports are in the Olympics. The Olympic Esports Series featured games that roughly aligned with traditional Olympic sports, like Fortnite for shooting, Gran Turismo 7 for motorsport and WBSC eBaseball: Power Pros for baseball.
Whether you consider eSports as sports or not, there’s little doubt that the games will be fought with the same toughness and dedication as physical Olympic events.
Those who wonder if eSports are sports might be surprised by the amount of money flowing through the industry because eSports is very profitable. As Wickramatunga suggests, growing player numbers and corporate sponsorship are driving revenue for the eSports industry.
‘The top eSports titles such as League of Legends, Dota 2, Valorant, and Counter-Strike 2, support large ecosystems of competitive play, with tournaments offering cumulative prize pools exceeding $40 million in 2024,’ Wickramatunga says. ‘Sponsorships are leading the way, accounting for 58% of the expected revenue in 2025 around $1.2 billion. Big-name brands like Coca-Cola, Nike, Red Bull, Monster Energy, and Secret Lab are heavily investing in the space.’
There’s no doubt that eSports is growing, changing from what was once a niche interest into mainstream popularity (thanks, in large part, to increasingly accessible technology). While Kaluarachchi and Wickramatunga stress that toxic behaviour still poses a threat to the industry, suggesting there’s more to be done by game developers and tournament organisers, it seems that eSports are sports with a bright future ahead.
‘Bottom line is that eSports is evolving from a niche gaming subculture into a mainstream entertainment powerhouse that could rival traditional sports in global reach, cultural impact, and economic importance,’ says Kaluarachchi. ‘With advances in AI, cloud gaming, mobile technology, blockchain, and growing Olympic recognition, the foundation is set for sustained growth and innovation well into the 2030s and beyond.’
