The eSports industry has continued to expand at a rapid pace over the last few years, especially after the growth in popularity of livestreaming services like Twitch. Ian Sharpe, CEO of the eSports-focused livestreaming platform Azubu, says that eSports has become a global phenomenon, attracting both players and fans from hundreds of countries around the world, and while the industry is still young, he thinks it is here to stay.

“There is a cloud of doubt that lingers over the long-term staying power of competitive gaming,” Sharpe wrote in a recent blog post. “Games, like fashion, are prone to going out of style, and it is hard to predict (and more importantly invest in) the continued growth of eSports when it is carried by a handful of titles.”

Sharpe explained that while individual games may come and go, eSports is about more than the popular title of the moment.

“A key ingredient is the accessibility of its top players,” he explained. “Watching the best League of Legends player in the world do his thing is no more than a click away, and streaming platforms are designed to bring communities of fans together. Imagine if Lebron James’ practice sessions were broadcast live on ESPN and he interacted with fans around the world between dunks. That kind of accessibility is a dream for NBA fans, but a reality for eSports enthusiasts.”

According to Sharpe, the recent enthusiasm  for eSports on the part of game publishers has also been a boon to the industry, with companies like Blizzard Entertainment adding eSports friendly features to their games and even hosting their own official tournaments.

Sharpe also pointed to the many professional and amateur eSports casters who commentate on matches.

“An enormous amount of credit for the ongoing interest in eSports also lies with the casters, analysts, and content creators who, over the course of many years of broadly thankless work, have helped contextualize the digital action and create on-ramps for new fans to get involved,” Sharpe said. “That content has hit a critical mass, heavily aided by the growth of community-focused sites like Reddit and the ease of accessing such content via streams, and it’s now easier than ever to learn everything there is to know about the eSport of your choice.”

He added, “When eSports fans from Belgium to Brazil and Bangkok can watch the same match and talk about it on a shared forum at the same time, the game becomes an international shared experience, especially when that experience is localized into their own language.”

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