For more than a decade, the esports industry has been steadily growing. It has gone from being a small-time, niche concept to a billion-dollar business boasting hundreds of millions of fans around the world – and it’s only getting bigger. However, despite this rampant growth, it’s only now that women are finding their fortune in the industry – and their representation. It’s time to stand up and recognise women in esports and appreciate that their time is well and truly here.
It’s a sad fact, but the concept of women competing in esports tournaments is little more than a joke to many hardcore esports enthusiasts. It has been estimated that there are more than 2.5 billion gamers on the planet – it’s a global, community-led entertainment medium that, demographically, features a split of around 60 – 40, in favour of male gamers. It’s no longer appropriate to believe that ‘girls can’t play games’.
They’re doing it – and they’re doing it competitively.
Women in Esports – It Has Begun
If we look back just a few years, there are no female-led tournaments to be found. It’s a male-dominated landscape, and women are left standing on the sidelines without any kind of representation in the esports industry. Now, fast-forward to today, and great leaps have been made, with organisers, developers, publishers, and esports organisations all applying great effort to bring female competitors into the fold.
From the executive level to the ground-floor, aspiring competitors, women are being encouraged to step into roles that – once upon a time – they would have avoided. Over time, female-led esports events are becoming more common, meaning there’s more representation, and as a result, more role models for aspiring gamers to look up to. For the longest time, this male-dominated industry has intrigued and excited younger males, but now, it’s well and truly opening its doors to female gamers.
It was estimated that around 28% of all esports viewers in the United States are female – and that’s a growing figure. In the crowds at esports events, it’s all too easy to see female fans being just as vocal as male fans, and in the community, there’s a sense of sisterhood that exists to boost up those eager to learn the esports ropes.
The Growth of Female-Led Tournaments
Image Credit: G2
There was nothing, and then there was something – and now, it’s all blowing up.
In 2022, the inaugural VALORANT Champions Tour: Game Changers Championship took place, with teams being made up exclusively of women and female-identifying competitors. It was a tournament that boasted a $500,000 prize pool and some of the world’s most recognisable esports organisations stepped up to field a team. It was the most-watched female esports event in 2022, and it laid the groundwork for future VALORANT events featuring women in esports.
It’s far from ending there, though.
Also in 2022, the ESL launched the ESL Impact League, a female Counter-Strike competition. It was another impressive effort, and once again, the top-tier organisations of the world saw fit to raise rosters that would compete against one another for a $500,000 prize pool. There are also ongoing discussions within Riot Games to found an all-female League of Legends competition, given the success of the VALORANT league.
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It gets better, though!
In March 2023, an all-new women-only Call of Duty league was founded by Allycat, a Call of Duty League caster and streamer. This remarkable effort was spearheaded by some of the most prominent female Call of Duty players, with barriers in arguably the most male-dominated community in gaming being shot to pieces. In the first seaso
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