eSports games are continuously growing across the globe at an increasing rate. According to a report by Newzoo, the global eSports audience will reach 557 million by 2021.
As eSports is entering a new and critical phase toward maturity, huge investments, the launch of new league structures, and movement of sponsorship budgets are taking place.
Here is the list of top 12 eSports games of 2020.
1- Overwatch
Overwatch is a first-person shooter game launched in 2016 by Blizzard Entertainment. It has received awards such as Game of the Year, DICE, Game Developers Choice, etc.
Blizzard has funded and produced the global Overwatch League as a professional eSports league. Revenue generated by Blizzard in the first year of its release was more than US$1 billion.
2- NBA 2K
NBA 2K, launched in 1999, is a series of basketball sports simulation games. The premise of each game in the series is designed to match and reproduce the National Basketball Association. It was the first official eSports league operated by a USA professional sports league.
In 2017, the creation of an NBA 2K eSports league was announced, which commenced competition in 2018. The league revolutionized how sports leagues collaborate with their corresponding professional eSports league.
3- FIFA
FIFA is a series of football simulation video games released by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. The series had sold more than 282.4 million copies by 2019 and became one of the best-selling video game franchises.
FIFA 12 is the fastest-selling sports game ever. More than 3.2 million FIFA 12 games were sold and over $186 million generated at retail in its first week of release.
4- Fortnite World Cup
It is an annual eSports competition based on video game Fortnite. The inaugural events took place at the Arthur Ashe Stadium from July 26–28, 2019, with a US$30 million prize pool.
Players from all across the globe participated in smaller tournaments. A 16-year-old Kyle Bugha Giersdorf won the Best Fortnite Player in the World title and US$3 million prize money.
5- League of Legends
It is a multiplayer online battle video game developed by Riot Games for Microsoft Windows and macOS, where players battle against a team of other players to destroy their team’s Nexus.
There were 100 million unique viewers of the LoL World Championship in 2019 with a minimum prize pool of US$2.5 million.
6- PUBG
PUBG is one of the most-played and the best-selling video games of all time. In the first three days after its release in 2017, Battlegrounds made US$11 million. By this year, the game has sold over 70 million copies, with PUBG Mobile downloaded over 600 million times.
PUBG runs and organizes several tournaments every year, such as PMIS, PMWL, PUBG Mobile Campus Championship, and PUBG Continental series. It introduced in-game tools to help with broadcasting the game to spectators.
7- Basketball Battle
Basketball Battle games are designed with arcade-style. The concept is to aim at basketball. The score increases if you shoot the ball into the basket in one go.
The player who scores the most points wins the game and holds the top position in the leaderboard.
8- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Counter-Strike Global Offensive, launched in 2012, is a multiplayer first-person shooter game. Two teams play against each other in the game to eliminate the other while also completing separate objectives.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was in the nomination list for eSports Game of the Year in 2017, 2018, and 2019 Golden Joystick Awards. In 2015, the game won the fan’s choice eSports Game of the Year award at the Game Awards.
9- StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void
StarCraft Second: Legacy of the Void is a real-time strategy game developed by Blizzard Entertainment in 2015.
According to Blizzard Entertainment, the game sold over 1 million copies worldwide within its first 24 hours of the sale. In 2017, BlizzCon announced that StarCraft 2 is going free-to-play to bring in more players.
In 2016, it won the GameStar’s Highest Rated award in the Best Strategy Game category.
10- Call of Duty
Call of Duty, launched in 2003 by Activision, is a first-person shooter video game franchise. In 2016, the series sold more than 250 million copies.
The Call of Duty League is a professional eSports league for the video game series. This league has the same model as the Overwatch League.
Call of Duty is famous in Europe and North America. Users participate in tournaments and ladder matches daily. These competitive players have an average of 500,000 followers on social media.
11- Heroes of the Storm
Heroes of the Storm, a competitive multiplayer online battle arena video game, was released in 2015 and received favorable reviews. Blizzard Entertainment launched it for Microsoft Windows and macOS.
The Heroes of Storm received 9 out of 10 ratings from GameSpot. GameSpot summarized the game as a fantastic casual-competitive game that offers untold hours of enjoyment.
12- Rocket League
Rocket League is a vehicular soccer game launched by Psyonix. In 2015, it was first released for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4.
In 2016, Psyonix observed the popularity of the Rocket League on Twitch and live streaming platforms. It announced the Championship series, the final of which took place in 2016 with US$55k money prize.
Final Thoughts
The Esports games industry has a huge audience base, incredible cash pots, and sponsorships that enable elite players to transform their passion into careers.
Competitive games such as PUBG, Fortnite, Overwatch, and League of Legends conduct tournaments throughout the year and pay thousands of dollars in cash to the winner.