Esports has seen a meteoric rise in popularity, particularly over the past ten years, and many game developers have introduced Esports events and competitions for their game titles. Despite the massive growth of the Esports industry, it lacks support for its people and can be described as a free-for-all between its employees and competitors.
In recent years, more and more people have begun to discuss issues that they have faced whilst working within the Esports industry, and although unfortunately a lot of these issues have previously fallen on deaf ears, as time goes by more discussion has taken place on discrimination, mental health, and further issues within Esports.
This dissertation will firstly focus on sexism and hatred in gaming, looking at discrimination faced by women, both in and out of the public eye, and verbal abuse thrown around in different player lobbies, streams, and events.
The modern world is improving with equality however there are still people who believe that gaming should be male dominated, this has negative repercussions on non-males who want to be involved in Esports. Chapter One will look at examples of sexism and attempt to understand why masculine toxicity exists in Esports. Linked to these issues, I will be discussing the mental health challenges of gaming and what players do to improve their mental state, including casual and professional players, fortunately, we are also improving awareness around mental health with lots of help available today including some teams employing staff for this exact issue. Associated with player wellbeing, this dissertation will look at physical training in Esports and players’ wellbeing whilst living with their teammates.
Finally, I will discuss whether Esports requires governance in line with its problems and what a governing body could offer to help the industry grow further.