Esports: From hobby to global phenomenon

ELECTRONIC sports, or esports, is now a global phenomenon.

Having emerged from electronic gaming, it has the potential to contribute to Malaysia’s economic growth. What used to be a niche hobby, is now holding a global market value of over US$2 billion (more than RM9 billion).

Over the years, the esports sector has been attracting millions of followers and generating billions of dollars in revenue. As it grows, it provides job prospects beyond being professional players, in that it also covers technology, marketing and merchandising, and also event management.

‘How big is it?’

University of Technology Sarawak (UTS)’s School of Computing and Creative Media dean, Associate Professor Alan Ting, says esports has shown significant growth in Malaysia over recent years.

“With a burgeoning community of players and enthusiasts, Malaysia has become a key player in the Southeast Asian esports scene.

“While the precise figures on its direct contribution to Malaysia’s GDP are hard to pinpoint, the industry encompasses not just professional gaming, but also streaming, event management, marketing, and related tech industries.

“The overall economic impact is substantial, with projections indicating continuous growth driven by increased investment and governmental support,” he told thesundaypost.

Asked the same question, esports manager Tiffani Lim also said it was hard to really quantify it.

She did point out the recognition of esports by the Youth and Sports Ministry Malaysia (KBS) as a ‘sport’, under the Sports Development Act as of last year.

“It’s hard to really quantify, but with our homegrown esports athletes having achieved podium finishes on the global stage and appearing on the news time and time again in the past few years, I’d say it is big.

“I believe that the mainstream masses are at least aware of it, but some still harbour some prejudice because they don’t understand what esports really is and simply equate it to gaming or addiction,” said Lim, who has over 10 years’ worth of experience in the industry starting as an athlete, and proceeding to become a manager and a referee.

She currently manages the national women’s esports team, while chairing the Athletes Committee at the International Esports Federation (IESF).

Meanwhile, Sibu Division Esports Association president Abdul Taib Rosli said based on statistics released by KBS in 2020, the number of esports fans in the country had increased from 9.5 million in 2016, to 19.8 million in 2019.

Sibu MP Oscar Ling, when officiating at an esports workshop in Methodist Pilley Institute (MPI) in Sibu in July this year, also observed the substantially growing number of followers of esports and the significant prize pools in international competitions.

He regarded this phenomenon as ‘a pivotal step forward’ in legitimising esports and providing a more structured support for the athletes and the relevant organisations in Malaysia.

“The KBS has laid out a five-year strategy to develop the esports industry, which includes significant investments by the government.

“For instance, the Ministry of Finance Malaysia allocated RM20 million (around US$4.5 million back then) for esports development in 2020, underscoring the government’s commitment to nurturing this burgeoning industry,” said Ling.

‘What’s in it for young enthusiasts?’

On this question, Ting described careers in esports as being ‘diverse, extending beyond the role of being a professional player’.

“Some of the key careers include games developer or designer; event or tournament manager; streamer, broadcaster or content creator via platforms like Twitch or YouTube; coach, analyst or strategist; marketing or PR (public relations) specialist; ‘shoutcaster’ or commentator for live matches; esports journalist; as well as social media manager.”

When asked about the most popular jobs in the esports sector, Ling said: “I feel like there are many youngsters who aspire to become either the athletes, commentators or hosts or streamers, and content creators, because those are the ones you see on screen most often when watching esports streams.”

Meanwhile Lim, fondly known in the esports community as Tiffani ‘Oling’, said the industry itself was built around events and tournaments.

“So the two main categories that people can look for esports jobs in are event companies and team organisations.

“Under event companies, you have your usual production team, venue team, operations team, referees and talents such as commentators or observers (people controlling the in-game cameras).

“Under team organisations, you have players, managers, coaches, and members of the support team such as social media manager, analysts, nutritionists, physiotherapists and psychologists.

“As with any other companies, you always have your standard marketing, sales, finance, legal and HR (human resources) departments.

“Other jobs would include journalists, content creators and federation work,” she elaborated.

“I was an athlete before, but after retirement from competitive gaming, I started working in management for an esports venue, team organisation and agency.

“Coaching is something that retired professional players would opt for as well, so as not to put their experiences and game knowledge to waste.

“Content creation would be more for those who are more creative and want to show their personality on social media.”

In the same vein, Abdul Taib observed that many players who had been active for a long time or were no longer interested in competitions, would often shift towards coaching or casting.

“Some of them also become streamers because that career is not tied to any particular organisation,” he added.

‘Requirements’

According to Ting, a career in esports can benefit from various educational backgrounds, including computer science and information technology (IT) for roles in games development and technical support; marketing and business administration for roles in management, marketing, and operations within the esports industry; communications and media studies for roles in broadcasting, journalism and social media management; sports management for managing esports teams and events; as well as graphic design and multimedia arts for roles in visual content creation and design.

Lim, in her opinion, said this would really depend on what one would want to do.

“If you’re aiming to be part of a team organisation, I would say something like sports management or something medicine-related; if you wish to go into management, then maybe something finance or business-related; for events companies, probably project management or something media-related.

“I also have friends who studied law and ended up working at esports law firms.

“The possibilities are endless, and usually at a fresh graduate level, esports companies would tend to look at your knowledge and passion, more than what you studied,” she said.

‘How can one get started?’

Lim said to become a professional player, it would be good to start at the local level.

“Join as many tournaments as you can, and if you’re really good, eventually you may get scouted by professional teams and offered a contract.

“(But) If you’re looking to find other workscopes in esports, my advice is to attend as many events and tournaments as possible, and get to know as many people in the industry as possible.

“Despite its global presence, it is still a relatively small community, and having a good network can work wonders.”

To become a player, Lim pointed out, one would definitely need the mechanical and also critical-thinking skills.

“Time management skills are also crucial as you need to be efficient in improving yourself, lest the other teams may just overtake you.

“People skills are not a must, but you have to at least be able to work well with your teammates during competitions.”

For other jobs in esports, Lim said this would depend on which line of work that one was eyeing for.

“In team organisations, you mostly need to identify what your players need in order to produce good results, and accommodate those needs, so probably (you would need) problem-solving skills.

“For events, it’s mostly project management and multi-tasking skills.”

‘Show me the money’

Lim said in this aspect, professional esports players would typically earn incomes by winning tournaments offering cash prizes.

If they were under the team organisation’s contracts, she said they would get monthly pay.

“Then, there are sponsorships from brands that are sometimes topped up onto their monthly salaries.

“(There are) donations or tokens from streaming, if the player also does this other than competing.”

Challenges

Lim opined that because of stigma and misconceptions, many people including family members had misunderstood esports, seeing it as just gaming rather than a professional sport requiring discipline and skills.

There was also lack of financial stability, she added, knowing that many esports players, early in their career, struggled to survive on prize money from small tournaments.

She also described balancing one’s ‘day job’ with improving gaming skills as ‘tough’.

“Even established players often get short-term contracts, making long-term stability hard to achieve.”

On self-assessment and career limits, Lim said esports, being highly competitive, required the players to recognise their limitations.

“If they aren’t progressing, they need to reflect, improve, or consider transitioning to other careers, as an esports career’s span is short.”

Women in esports

Personally, Lim hoped to also encourage more women to participate in esports.

“To the girls out there, don’t ever let anyone tell you that esports is only for men.

“With the Esports Olympics coming, we also need more women athletes representing the nation.

“So if you have interest in competing, or in certain games, do consider signing up for tournaments as well, either as individual participants or in mixed teams,” she said.