A further step towards the professionalisation of e-sports

The video game industry has been on a steady rise since the appearance of the Magnavox Odyssey back in the 1970s. However, no one would have imagined that five decades later, video games would go from being a simple entertainment for young people to an industry with a turnover of billions of dollars and a growth rate in job opportunities of close to 100% per year.

This context has made everyone pay attention to this emerging industry that is still taking its first steps. Whether they are gamers, video game producers or industry professionals, they are all growing hand in hand with eSports and right now they are taking another step towards the professionalisation of the industry.

E-sports industry studies

From Spain to Latin America, video games are starting to be closely analysed at the university level. For example, the undergraduate programme that is currently taking its first steps at the Universidad del Rosario is called eSports Management and seeks to provide comprehensive training to students who want to start their career in this field. The initiative of this programme came because according to data from the same university in 2021 job vacancies in the industry experienced a growth that exceeded 100% annually.

"This constantly growing industry demands professionals capable of managing, leading and developing innovative products and entrepreneurial business models with an ethical and humanistic sense, to meet the demands of the e-sports and video games sector. This, in turn, contributes to the creation and expansion of value in both organisations and society," said Alejandro Cheyne, Rector of Rosario University.

According to the study conducted by the authorities of the Universidad del Rosario, the positions that were most in demand were Directors of innovation and business development of companies, business development managers and marketing directors, so they have focused much of the chair in these areas.

This undergraduate programme in Esports Management, which was developed jointly by the School of Management of the Universidad del Rosario, the Colombian Olympic Committee (COI), Samsung and Pony Malta, is supposed to be studied in a mixed model that alternates physical and remote presence, and will be carried out in daytime hours with completion in 8 semesters.

With this type of new careers, the aim is to adapt the study plans to the new trends in society and the world economy, training professionals in an area of high demand and, why not? To keep a piece of an industry that is expected to have a value of around 3,500 million dollars by 2025.

eSports leagues in Spain and Latin America

Another sign of the growth of the video game industry is the number of emerging leagues that are now being developed in Latin America. That said, here are some of the most important eSports leagues in Spain and Latin America:

• Spain: In the case of our country, we see leagues such as the Superliga Orange (League of Legends), the Orange Unity League (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive), The Orange Crown League (Clash Royale), the Fortnite Champion Series (Fortnite), the R6 Spain Nationals (Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege), the eLaLiga Santander (FIFA), the Master Division (Call of Duty) and of course the Liga de Videojuegos Profesional (LVP) which has several divisions.
• Latin America: The Northern Regional League with teams from Central America, Mexico, Colombia and the Caribbean, the Southern Regional League with teams from Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay, the Ace Esports League, the Master Flow League (League of Legends teams in Argentina), Liga de Honor (Chile), Golden League (Colombia), Free Fire League (Free Fire continental league) and the Spike Pro League (Liga Valorant de Venezuela).

eSports, streaming services and online casinos: online entertainment is the order of the day.

Today, one of the faces of online entertainment is eSports, and this is largely due to the fact that gaming enthusiasts are looking for more than just a hobby and are beginning to see it as an industry, and are taking steps towards its establishment.

Next comes online casinos, an industry in which entertainment comes in the form of roulette, slots and card games. This type of entertainment is enjoyed by many people around the world who are not only looking to play slot machines, but seek information about the games available by reading a PlayUZU casino review or playing a free demo version of their favourite game.

Finally, we have streaming services, a form of entertainment that came into our lives without us realising it and nowadays we cannot conceive life without platforms such as Netflix, Prime Video or Max, to name a few.

A few years ago, video games entered the lives of a large number of people, regardless of their gender and age, which has greatly contributed to the growth of the industry. The growth of eSports continues to help strengthen the sector, encouraging participation and viewing of its tournaments and leagues. Today, eSports is more than a pipe dream, a reality that is increasingly establishing itself among the new industries of the global economy.