Competition has been part of video gaming culture since the very beginning – remember the hot seat games of our childhood or the LAN parties big and small held over weekends. Today, in turn, competitive gaming has become an ample phenomenon with massive organized competitions and everything that comes with it, including live streams and betting odds emerging on even the biggest brands online.
With the interest in eSports growing each year, it shouldn’t be a surprise that many developers are trying to build the next big competitive hit. Both established franchises and newcomers are creating their games with eSports capabilities built into them – global leaderboards and advanced matchmaking, to name just a few.
Each year, we see new games get the eSports treatment. For 2021, these are some of the titles to look forward to.
Halo Infinite
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There has been an official Halo eSports championship for almost a decade – the Halo Championship Series was founded in 2014. Today, the upcoming Halo Infinite gave HCS a major boost, with 434 Industries promising “the greatest esports program Halo has ever seen”.
Some of the big names in eSports have already announced that they’re in – the official partner teams of the HCS are Cloud9, eUnited, Faze Clan, Fnatic, G2 Esports, NAVI, Sentinels, Spacestation Gaming, and Team Envy.
Diabotical
Big brands are not the only ones exploring the realm of eSports. Diabotical – a competitive shooter funded on Kickstarter, and available free of charge via the Epic Game Store – has recently announced its first official tournament last fall, and continues to organize tournaments and matches to this day.
Diabotical is a cute game with egg-shaped robots… shooting each other into oblivion on extensive maps using futuristic weapons.
Upcoming Bungie eSports IP
Bungie has repeatedly refused to turn Destiny into an eSports game. Instead, the company is planning to release its own dedicated eSports IP in the near future.
Set to be a rival to Overwatch, there is not much to be known about the new game other than it is in the early stages of its development and it will be released sometime before 2025.
Pokémon Unite
Shooters are not the only games with eSports potential (even though they are among the most spectacular). MOBAs are also very popular among eAthletes – and Pokémon Unite may just be the next big title in this area.
Pokémon Unite hit the Nintendo Switch this July and is set to be released on Android and iOS before the end of September. Given its nature and the power of the Pokémon brand, it may just be the next big competitive MOBA the market needs.
Upcoming Riot Games fighting game (Project L)
Riot Games of League of Legends fame is not sitting back while watching people play LoL and Valorant – it is preparing for the release of further titles, each of them with an eSports potential. It currently has three games in development: an action-hack-and-slash-RPG known as “Project F”, an MMORPG based on LoL, and a fighting game called “Project L”.
Details about the game are kept under strict wraps, and we can’t expect more details to emerge during the beta phase (there won’t be one). We know it will be set in the Runeterra universe, and that it won’t be released this year. you may also read about Final Fantasy XIV and more articles on Best Digital Mate.
