League of Legends and the evolution of eSports

The idea of eSports -- a business built around watching people play video games professionally -- seemed like a fairly alien notion, even just a few years ago. While there were eSports businesses built around other competitive video games, it was Riot Entertainment's free-to-play League of Legends that really made eSports explode in recent years, on a global scale. Riot was on hand at GDC Next this morning, along with key people from the Riot and eSports ecosystem, to talk about evolution of the business, and its rapid ascension over the past few years. "The big turning point for me is that the professional careers of these athletes has been elevated to the level that they can make a living playing these games," said Dustin Beck, VP of eSports at Riot. "They don't need a second job to support themselves or their families." In the past, players would play throughout the year, intermittently. Today there are leagues in place that are sponsored or funded to the point where people can dedicate their lives to League of Legends, professionally. One of the key players in the evolution of eSports has been streaming video company Twitch. Kevin Lin, COO of the company, said while viewership of eSports is high, one of the major challenges is getting sponsors to buy into the basic idea of people watching other people play video games. "How do you drive sponsorships?" asked Lin. For him, it's about giving the players exposure, and when Twitch is able to highlight the players and cultivate a fan base, the sponsors are more likely to buy in. When sponsors buy in, players get paid. "Far and away, the biggest thing [players] wanted was to support themselves…and practice," he said. Riot wants League of Legends to eventually become a national pastime. But the eSports business is already going global. Practical problems do exist – take the situation in Southeast Asia. "One very basic [problem] is that in order to enjoy eSports, you need to be able to watch eSports," said Jason Ng, commissioner of Asia's multinational League of Legends league GPL. In Southeast Asia, there isn't infrastructure in place that can support a viewership. "It's a real problem," he said. Ng added, "If you want to start a league, prepare to spend a lot of money. It is not cheap." Additionally, he said companies in Asia often don't even know what League of Legends is, and it's hard for people to wrap their heads around the idea. "Getting gamers to understand that this is a job is not easy as well," he said. As far as the league ecosystem, Riot decided to both support existing pro eSports leagues, and also launch the LCS, Riot's own pro league. Riot's LCS focuses not only on tournaments, but also how a player might progress from an amateur to a professional player and beyond. The pieces are falling into place for eSports and League of Legends, but there are still challenges facing the business. "Sponsors," said Twitch's Lin. "A lot of [the challenge] is the work on our end to convince people that this is something that is here to stay." There's also a skillset that game developers need to learn -- to make games that are not only fun to play, but also to spectate. Lin is also thinking about ways in the future in which the viewing audience can influence the outcome of an eSports matchup. "I think that's a future evolution of games," he said. "It's weird to think about now, but we're headed there." Jack Etienne, general manager of League of Legends team Cloud 9, added, "I'd love to see someone embrace the whole educational side of this, [to educate people on] what the heck is going on [on-screen], quickly." Beck said currently the eSports space also lacks the equivalent of ESPN.com or SportsCenter, where fans can get succinct recaps of what's happening in the world of eSports. Ng's challenges are much more basic. "I just need more internet in Southeast Asia," he laughed.