This is going to be my list of a few eSport games that I either currently enjoy playing or have dabbled in. The other point I want to consider is overall earnings for the players and most popular on streams and YouTube. So lets get at it.
- Overwatch.
Now, Overwatch doesn't have ranked play of any kind as of posting this article, however it does still have an eSport following. Blizzard just announced the world cup teams and players. (https://playoverwatch.com/en-gb/blog/20252894) This game is a lot of fun and assuming blizzard can do what Riot Games has done and get their foot in the door fast and hard I wouldn't be surprised if this game take off huge in the eSports scene.
- StarCraft II
Now, i put this game at number 4 because many would argue it is dying. I honestly can't tell whether it is or not because this is one of those games i dabbled in and didn't get huge into. That being said I do have several friends who play the game, some at a rather high level and they say it still has a great eSport scene. On top of this I was able to do a quick search and it appears that SC2 made its players just over Two Million dollars combined. (http://www.esportsearnings.com/history/2015/games)
- CS:GO
Counter Strike Global Offensive is a fps game that is widely popular in the eSports scene. It is a little bit old in age but still a very popular game. I personally have played around 10 hours of the game. Yes, that is a small amount but in that short time I can see why people like playing this game at a competitive level.... it takes some degree of skill to be good. Unlike in Overwatch where they "favour the shooter" and give LARGE hit boxes for the characters, CSGO requires you to be accurate and learn the different recoils of the guns and the best way to use them. Also it made it's players a cool Six Million Dollars for the players last year. Not to mention the cash shop and CSGO gambling sites.....
- DotA 2
ok.... yes.... DotA 2 made its players an easy breezy Thirty One Million Dollars and yes it has a shop that allows creators to make money off of the items they create for the characters but I placed it at number 2 because of 2 reasons. I haven't played it anywhere near as much as my number one on this list and it has turn radius.... Come on Valve. In all seriousness the game is very fun. It's a Moba, which is a very popular style of game in the eSport world (LoL, DotA 2, Smite, Vainglory and so on) When you look at this game for the first time and try and play it, it can be very overwhelming but it still has millions of players around the world and a huge following. Not to mention it is the sequel to the first ever moba under a similar name. It is a fun game that absolutely deserves to be an eSport leader.
- League of Legends
League of legends, the game I have been playing for the last nearly 5 years, the game I have thousands over hours playing had to be put at number one on my list. It is incredibly popular and incredibly fun. Being a moba just like, DotA 2 it has some very strong similarities, 5v5, kill the nexus/ancient to win and "don't feed pls." Many claim this game is easier to pick up than DotA 2 and I have to agree, yes they are the same genre but they are also worlds apart. This game was created and developed by riot games and is incredibly fun to play if you have a few thousand hours. Now it did only make the players just over Seven Hundred and Fifty Million, well under that of DotA 2 but it brings in millions of dollars to creators of all sorts from fan videos, tutorial videos and some pretty funny wtf moments. on top of all this it has roughly 27 million daily active players world wide (http://www.riotgames.com/articles/20140711/1322/league-players-reach-new-heights-2014) and that was as of 2014.
All these games are incredibly fun and if you are just getting into eSports i suggest checking out any one of these games as they are all very fun.
Thanks for the read everyone, let me know if you have any changes to the list you would have made!
~Bryan