The Evolution which changed esports

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By 2010, almost every household had a computer, and esports was beginning to establish itself on the internet. Competitive gaming scenes for titles like StarCraft: Brood War, Counter-Strike 1.6, and Warcraft III were thriving, but esports was not yet a mainstream industry. The gaming world was experiencing rapid innovation, with new games releasing back-to-back across both competitive and casual genres.

However, PC gaming wasn’t the only force shaping the industry. In 2008, the first Android smartphone, the HTC Dream (T-Mobile G1), was released, marking the start of a new era. By 2010, mobile gaming was gaining traction with the rise of early hits like Angry Birds (2009) and Fruit Ninja (2010). However, mobile gaming’s true breakthrough moment came in 2012, when Clash of Clans launched for iOS on August 2. The game quickly became a global sensation, and after its Android release in 2013, it solidified its place as one of the most active online multiplayer games of its time.

Despite its competitive elements, Clash of Clans did not enter the esports scene back then. However, it proved that mobile gaming had serious potential in the gaming entertainment industry. This shift laid the foundation for the future of mobile esports, which would gain mainstream recognition in later years. In fact, by 2019, Clash of Clans had its own official World Championship, proving that mobile games could thrive in competitive gaming just as much as PC and console titles.

It's 2013, and you're at home watching trailers for GTA V, wanting to download it but realizing it's too expensive. At the same time, mobile gaming was rapidly gaining popularity, alongside the rise of new PC games. The MOBA genre, which had been growing since Defense of the Ancients (DotA) in the early 2000s, became even more mainstream with the release of League of Legends (LoL) in 2009. Inspired by LoL, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) was released on July 14, 2016, as a mobile-based MOBA. Within a year, by 2017, MLBB had become a global sensation, attracting millions of players. Its success was driven by several key factors, including accessibility, as it could run on low-end smartphones; regional popularity, particularly in Southeast Asia, where mobile gaming was more accessible than PC gaming; and Moonton's esports expansion, which led to the launch of the Mobile Legends Professional League (MPL) in 2017. Additionally, the game's free-to-play model made it widely available, and developer support for content creation helped boost its visibility among streamers and YouTubers. By 2019, MLBB had solidified itself as one of the biggest mobile esports titles, culminating in the first MLBB World Championship (M1). Its success proved that mobile gaming was not just entertainment but also a legitimate platform for competitive esports.

Between 2019 and 2022, esports became one of the biggest sensations in the gaming industry, gradually gaining a larger audience. The unfortunate period of COVID-19 became a turning point for the gaming industry, as people worldwide participated in tournaments, engaged in casual gaming, and took up live streaming. This organic promotion by players and content creators elevated gaming to unprecedented levels. Today, in 2024, the global esports industry is valued at approximately $2.09 billion, with nearly 50% of the player base coming from mobile gaming, while the remaining market share is divided between console and PC gaming.

As I'm in a hurry at the moment, I apologize for the short blog. Stay tuned—I’ll be posting longer content starting tomorrow!

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