Why do esports players retire early?

Esports is a huge industry with thousands of players playing across different genres of games. Among many of these gamers, there is one thing pretty common. Most of them are quite young, usually under the age of 25. In recent days, the inflow of young talent has been increased by a lot. Players under the age of 18 are now playing in top teams among players who are known to be one of the best.

However, many of the esports pros also retire quite early, usually before they hit 30. Many players play professionally over the age of 30 but are still very good at the game. However, this is not the case for the majority of others. As for why, many factors affect a player’s decision to get out of competitive gaming. Sometimes, multiple of these stack together, forcing them out of the game.

Here's the reasons why gamers retire from esports at a young age

Esports is a highly evolving market. New games are released each year, and older games go through a lot of changes in that said time. Weapons and abilities do not feel the same after a few years due to buffs and nerfs and keeping up with these changes can become very taxing, especially as players get older. Here are some of the most common reasons why esports pros retire early -

5. Other Career opportunities

Making a name in the esports industry can take time due to the huge number of players. Sadly, it is one of the things people have the least to secure a long-term career. Esports can be highly uncertain and, unlike other sports, maintaining your best form isn’t always possible. This becomes a huge reason for an early retirement. Switching from esports to anything else can also be rough, so players need time to prepare before it is too late.

If a player is fairly popular, they can start streaming, teaching or switching games to compete in. Those who aren’t able to make it assess their situation and go down a completely different path. In some cases, players can even turn out to be professional coaches, casters or analysis experts in the esports industry. 

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4. Financial reasons

If a player is not among the top, it can be really difficult for them to find a decent team that pays well enough to support them through their professional career. This mostly occurs with low-tier teams that usually struggle to break through big tournaments. With no big events, there will be no sponsorship revenue. These teams are also not able to become partner teams for organizers due to revenue issues, although the system is slowly being removed from several esports titles to provide a fair chance to everyone.

The esports industry is notorious for financial instability and to be among the top earners, players need to win, which sadly only a few achieve at a time. For that reason, many players might choose to retire early on to look to other opportunities with better pay to support them and possibly their family financially.

3. Health

Esports can get demanding. Like any other sport, it requires players to be in top shape both physically and mentally, which at times can have side effects. The pursuit of betting in their game can put a lot of mental pressure, which is worsened if they fail to do so.

Furthermore, longer practice sessions can get rough with age with eye strain and the possibility of other physical issues like carpal tunnel, which further limits the potential for players and can send them into early retirement from their game.

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2. Age

With age comes wisdom, but it also limits some of the things that players could do vastly better at a younger age. Physical capabilities for older players get limited and in fast-paced esports titles, having a great reflex and reaction time is a must.

With age, people tend to lose their edge. The ability to quickly analyse a situation and forge a counter plan takes longer, which can be a huge disadvantage. Even if a player knows about what their opponents are going to do, having a lower reaction time will put them at a disadvantage.

1. Competition

For every 25-year-old+ professional player, many 18-year-old headshot machines are hungry to make a name in esports, and keeping up with them gets tough for older-generation players. Teams and organisations are also on the lookout for players who will provide the best results and if a player in not well known, there is a good chance they will get benched.

Being a professional player for too long also exposes your gameplay style and tricks to everyone else, and new players will take advantage of that while the old gun tries to figure out their gameplay style, which puts them at a huge disadvantage. Players also need to evolve their gameplay with changes to the game itself, as something that works today might be left redundant after a few months or weeks.

Also Check: Why are women underrepresented in esports?