From Play to Pay: Examining the Viability of Esports as a Career Opportunity in the 21st Century

Abstract

Esports originated as a micro-tournament in a computer laboratory in 1970. Today, eSport is regarded as a high-profit industry that provides many opportunities for everyone, but does it? This study aims to examine the viability of esports as a viable career in the 21st century. The study of Bousquet, J., & Ertz, M. (2021). eSports: Historical review, current state, and future challenges. In eSports: Historical Review, Current State, and Future Challenges (pp. 1-25). IGI Global states that eSports is rapidly growing and will continuously increase in the future, providing more opportunities in many ways, such as academic integration and the integration of a structured governing body. In this study, the researchers surveyed 43 respondents to conduct an examination of the viability of esports as a viable career in the 21st century. To achieve this, the researchers utilized the data gathering instruments constructed: (1) Demographic Profile, (2) Factors Influencing the Rise of Esports (FITROF), (3) Esports Players Characteristics for Success (EPCS), and (4) Motivation to Pursue Esports (MTPE), (5) Stability of the Esports Scene as a Source of Income (SESSI). With this, the researchers have concluded from the responses of the respondents and literature shows that esports have high revenue but lacks the stability to sufficiently provide for oneself, but with the continuous digitalization on a global stage, esports is guaranteed to grow and to be more stabilized generally