The Most Popular Esports Gaming Genres

With the internet, people can watch professional esports competitions and play games anywhere. We list the most popular esports genres here.

Many people crave some form of fun competition in their lives, so it’s no surprise that esports have risen in mass appeal so rapidly. Communities of people who enjoy playing videogames and watching the top players in the world go head-to-head have grown naturally as the internet has made it possible to connect with others from all over the globe in real-time. Different games can vary vastly from one another, though, while still being placed under the umbrella of esports. Find out about the most popular esports gaming genres here.

Player vs. Player (PvP) Fighting Games

In player vs. player fighting games, you usually go up against another opponent and aim to deplete their visible health bar. The screen shows each character facing towards each other from the side and you utilize your knowledge and adeptness with combo attacks to win. Think of classic arcade games such as Street Fighter. Some games mix up the formula to great success as well. For instance, the Super Smash Bros. franchise accommodates up to four players at a time, and the goal is to knock other players off the stage rather than get their life bar to zero.

First-Person Shooters (FPS)

First-person shooters are among the most common type of esports. These are the games where you move around the virtual world and see things through the eyes of your character. Most of the time, the only part of your character that you see is a portion of their arms or the weapons that they are pointing at the enemy. You can work individually or on teams in order to acquire the most kills or fulfill a certain objective. FPS games are fast-paced and require good reflexes. Many players use headsets to listen attentively for foes who may be coming around the corner. Prominent examples of FPS games include Overwatch, Call Of Duty, and Counter-Strike.

Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas (MOBA)

Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas have you control a single character while you play in a team to beat the opposing side. One distinguishing feature of this genre is that you view the map (or arena) you’re playing in from a top-down perspective. Your main objective is often to destroy a certain structure that the other team is guarding, as is the case in the game League of Legends. MOBAs place more emphasis on strategy as you try to gain ground little by little, which makes sense since these types of games were first derived from real-time strategy games.

Real-Time Strategy (RTS) Games

Real-time strategy games also have you looking down on a map from above. Unlike the other most popular esports gaming genres, you don’t control a single character in RTS games. Rather, you multitask in order to build up supplies, troops, and structures for an army that will defend your base. You must balance resource gathering with the development of your troops, which takes careful forward planning and awareness of the current situation in order to overcome your opponent. A well-known RTS game is Starcraft.