A recent Wired.com article touches on the precarious position of e-sports pros in a world where the game publishers hold all the power. Many e-sports pros are full time employees, with salaries and benefits, and compete in an industry valued at over a billion dollars. But, as the article says, there is one major difference between a professional gamer and a professional athlete – whereas no one can ‘own’ soccer or basketball, game publishers own the games, the IP, and even the leagues tied to those games. This creates an ecosystem where publishers like Activision Blizzard or EA reap huge financial and advertising benefits from e-sports leagues, while the players are often left stressed, anxious, and with near-zero control over their careers.
The article raises many important legal questions regarding e-sports professionals and the leagues they play in. Why aren’t the players unionized like other athletes in major league sports? To what extent should publishers be allowed to change or patch major parts of their games when people’s livelihood depends on it? What legal protections can be afforded to the youngest e-sports pros, who are subject to outrageous practice schedules, low compensation, and thousands of miles of travel every year? These issues sit at a crossroads of IP law and employment law, and as the nascent professional gaming industry continues to grow, it will be interesting to see how these problems are settled. What do you think the world of e-sports will look like in five or ten years time?
If you’re interested in the history of e-sports, this HotSpawn article is a great place to start.
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Really interesting! I had not previously considered the unique risk to e-sports competitors vs conventional athletes re stability of the game itself. As a long time follower of the fighting game community (mostly Street Fighter) it’s my observation that most top level fighting game competitors are competitive in a few different games and perhaps mitigate their risk that way, but that is of course not a complete answer to the risk and that approach may only be applicable to fighting games (skills may not be as transferable in other types of games) and most importantly it’s not an answer to the underlying issue of the massive leverage held by game developers.