What are the most popular esports genres?

There are thousands of video games released each year and all are usually categorized across different genres, with each of them having a different fan base. There are also many games with multiple genres, although they are usually single-player titles which may feature light multiplayer elements.

With the rise of competitive gaming, Esports also have some dedicated genres, each with a somewhat large fan following who like to play these games and watch tournaments. Unlike single-player games, game genres in esports often do not collide. Do note that all of these genres also include mobile games as over the last few years, mobile gaming has also skyrocketed matching the PC and Console market combined.

Here are some of the most popular esports genres -

6. Real-Time Strategy (RTS)

The RTS genre comes from single-player strategy games, where you control a group of soldiers to do different tasks. In single player, players get all the time to think and go back to correct their mistakes, but when facing real players online you need quick thinking, hence, real-time strategy. Unlike a turn-based game, where you wait for opponents to finish up, RTS games are ruthless.

There are no turns and both players have to do their own thing simultaneously to outplay each other and come out on top. Some of the most popular RTS games are Starcraft 2, Age of Empires, Clash of Clans, Warhammer 40k games and many more. While not as popular as they used to be, they did help carve the way for other genres into esports and still retain a lot of dedicated players across the world.

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5. Sports Simulation

What started primarily as a way to have fun playing real-life sports games suddenly turned into a competitive gaming genre as online gaming took off. Now tournaments for games like FIFA, NBA and others are regularly hosted. Many of the sports simulation games are even features in the Olympic esports category.

Another popular sub-genre of sports simulation games is simulation racing, which has its own dedicated player base. While not as large as other gaming genres, simulation Racing is still quite popular with multiple esports events. The only reason one can think of it not being as widely played is the specialised equipment that can get quite expensive when people have a lot of other options to choose from.

4. Fighting Games

Fighting Games are one of the oldest forms of competitive games with one of the most dedicated esports communities. There are a lot of fighting games out there in the mix across multiple platforms with a very active player base and community. While it may sound like a sub-genre for sports simulation, over the years, they have created their own identity.

Most recently, the FGC (Fighting Game Community) saw a huge boost in popularity with the release of new generation games like Tekken 8, Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1 which allowed an easier learning curve and onboarding for new players. Riot Games has now also jumped in on the action and has been developing its own fighting game based around the League of Legends universe.

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3. Battle Royale

Battle Royale games are another popular esports genre which originated from FPS/third-person and open-world games. It is one of the great examples of combining different genres. Battle Royale games provide a fast-paced gunfight like a huge free-for-all all-game mode across a large map against over 100 players at times.

Some of the most popular examples of battle royale games include PUBG on PC, Consoles and Mobile, Apex Legends, Free Fire, CoD Warzone and Fortnite. The games clock in millions of players every month if not weeks and feature some of the biggest esports events each year. The best part of it is that all of these games are usually free to play on launch and can garner a huge fan following if they do things right.

2. First-Person Shooter (FPS)

Since the beginning, first-person shooter games have had a different reign over video games. Early first-person shooters were a single player story game that slowly evolved to multiplayer games and entered the esports industry. While fps games may have climbed the esports ladder up the back of other genres, they are now one of the most integral parts of esports.

Games like Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, and Halo were some of the earliest in the fps esports genre. Over the years, the games have evolved with modern entries in the series like Valorant, Overwatch and XDefiant, but everything remains the same. These games pull in players for their precise gunplay and have arguably the largest gaming community.

1. Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA)

MOBA games are a direct competitor to FPS games. Fans and someone who has witnessed a MOBA event will know why it is in the first place, as these games bring in millions in viewership per event. While few other genres can do the same, MOBA games consistently see a large number of players and fans.

Currently, League of Legends and Dota 2 are some of the biggest MOBA games on PC, while mobile devices have games like Honor of Kings and Mobile Legends Bang Bang. These games also feature some of the largest payouts across any esports title, which is one of the reasons for its popularity.

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