In an era that has made almost every mainstream sport viewable from a seemingly infinite number of devices, it may be difficult to believe that one of the fastest-growing sports in the world is… unconventional, to say the least. But eSports (shorthand for electronic sports, which are “a form of sport where the primary aspects of the sport are facilitated by video games”) is surging into the national spotlight at an unprecedented rate, and eSports’ recognition and promotion by many companies of note is taking it to a whole new level. For instance, the beginning of 2016 witnessed the inauguration of an eSports vertical on ESPN’s website, and Fox Sports aired the FIFA Interactive World Cup.
Get The Latest Sports Tech News In Your Inbox!
But those successes were just a warmup for eSports’ most recent victory. Back in January, Activision Blizzard — a leading gaming and entertainment company, which produces the likes of Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, and World of Warcraft — acquired MLG.tv, which broadcasts eSports competitions and provides commentary and statistics for its content via its Enhanced Viewing Experience. And last week, Activision Blizzard announced that it will be using MLG.tv to live-stream eSports events on Facebook, thus opening the floodgates for eSports to surge forward at a remarkable pace. The MLG Open, which is a multi-day Call of Duty: Black Ops III competition in Anaheim, CA, will be the first event viewable on Facebook.
The partnership between Activision Blizzard and Facebook is further proof that eSports officially exists on the same playing field as soccer, baseball, basketball, and more. Facebook has been actively trying to live-stream football for a while, and is already streaming NBA events, such as the Cleveland Cavaliers’ training camp and the Golden State Warriors’ pregame shootarounds. The newfound live-streaming of eSports will provide eSports with the same Facebook popularity as more conventional sports, and will also be a win for Facebook, which will garner increased use as people use it as an outlet to view eSports.
Unfortunately, all of the good taking place in the eSports universe does not mean that professional gaming has gained ubiquitous acceptance as a sport. There are still many who are skeptical of eSports’ merits, and hesitate to categorize it with physical activities that still serve as the world’s leading form of entertainment. But ESPN, Fox Sports, and Facebook — among others — are obviously bullish on eSports, and everyone else likely will be in the near future, too.