LEAGUE OF ANCIENTS AND THE FUTURE OF THE METAVERSE:
PART II: THE EVOLUTION OF ESPORTS
In the second of our new series of linked articles featuring decentralised metaverses, we will be looking at the behemoth of the gaming industry — Esports — and how it is set to become a key factor in the future of connected gaming ecosystems. However, before that can be understood, it is first necessary to clarify what esports is, and why it has become so important over the past decade.
So, what exactly is esports?
Esports (or Electronic Sporting) is an encompassing term used to describe organized video gaming events that take place in a competitive format. Single competitions or tournaments are held (either in a fixed arena locations or online) where two or more opponents of professional video gamers vie for the top spot and both the associated accolades and financial rewards that come along with it — much like in physical sporting events. Indeed, just like in real world sports, the competitions have set rules– and referees who enforce them — as well as fans who cheer on their favourite player or team. Typically, these games will be either First Person Shooters (FPS) such as Call of Duty or Counterstrike, Battle Royales (BR) like Fortnite, or most popularly Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas (MOBA) games, such as Dota2 or League of Legends. For the uninitiated, esports might seem nonsensical, but the truth is that the industry is vast and is still growing in both popularity and scope. In fact, it was estimated that over 370 million people worldwide will watch esports this year, and big names like Will Smith, Drake and Mike Tyson are among the many celebrity investors and endorsers. Live tournaments themselves will draw in vast crowds in the hundreds of thousands and the teams will compe for millions of dollars in prize funds. Esports is serious business and has become a market leader in terms of pushing the direction of video gaming forward.
So how can esports fit in with the metaverse?
Before this question can be answered it is first necessary to understand what makes video games a true differentiator and the obvious pioneers when it comes to metaverse application. There are two central factors to this, and both are intrinsically linked. The first is that many video games already are in essence beta metaverses — titles such as Roblox and Minecraft are massive online titles that have millions of active players who enter into complete and thriving ecosystems to interact with one another through a variety of means — such as voice and text chat, gaming challenges and social events (that sometimes even feature real-world, live events such as concerts). The second aspect is that (most) video games typically are not bound by extensive corporate interests in the same way social media companies are and can therefore allow for organic interaction between individuals that are not tied to some form of transactional content. Indeed, when Facebook changed its name to Meta and (somewhat arrogantly) announced themselves to be the new pioneers of metaverses — when metaverses have been in the works for some time — the large public reaction was not adulation but rather scepticism. Facebook is a company well known for putting corporate interests and profitability over the safety and welfare of those using its platforms and viewing many of its users as data commodities to be exploited and sold to. Therefore, any metaverse created by such a corporation will have natural leanings towards using an individual’s interaction to create monetised situations or use that data to later to sell a product or service. Conversely, the gaming universes of the aforementioned Roblox and Minecraft have had thriving ecosystems for decades now, where players can interact with one another, learn skills and trades (that many can earn real-world money from) and join together on quests and social events, without fear of exploitation. Of course, microtransactions are indeed present and can occur, but they are passive and are down to the player to interact with of their own volition. That is why video games are the natural evolution choice for metaverses.
In fact, one company, Duabit — a development studio that specializes in metaverse games — recently announced that it has raised $8 million to create the world’s first esports league in the metaverse, which will take place exclusively inside Roblox. The Metaverse Gaming League (MGL) is currently in its beta testing phase within the game and will start to host events soon. However, as mentioned in the previous metaverse article, it is the decentralisation of blockchain technology where esports in the metaverse can really shine. NFT games built on decentralised finance systems, (particularly MOBA titles such as League of Ancients) are the natural fit for the next evolution of esports gaming, due to battle arena games being the most popular of all genres in the industry and the interoperability of blockchain technology. Indeed, as project lead for LOA Dwayne Ong explains, “League of Ancients is just the beginning, we are really keen to combine the exciting esports space we know and love so well with the endless possibilities of the metaverse we are hoping to cultivate. As new virtual and augmented reality technology emerges, the sky really is the limit.” Although not speaking in absolutes it is not hard to imagine the type of interactions that Dwayne is referring to. In the previous article, it was referenced how in new VR technology, a player avatar could watch an esport event on a community screen hosted somewhere within a hub metaverse world.
But what if it could go much further than that?
Imagine this scenario: you are playing a game of League of Ancients within its unique metaverse but decide that you would rather watch some professionals compete instead. With your VR headset showing you a completely interactive 3D world, you relocate to a public hub area where an announcement board shows an upcoming major tournament being held that evening. You interact with it and purchase a ticket using native $LOA cryptocurrency. That ticket is now safely held in your DeFi wallet as an NFT. When the tournament is about to begin you offer over your NFT and you are transported to the game arena. From that point you take your seat in your assigned location — just like in real life. Once you are transported there, you have an aerial view of a League of Ancients battle happening in real time, in virtual reality right in front of you. Unlike real life, however, you can change your camera angle to get a different take on the action, get an over-the-shoulder view of your favourite player’s character as they fight their way through the opposition, or you can turn to your left and right and see the avatars for all other spectators who might be friends or family members. You can talk to them, or cheer along with them just as you would in real life. Also just like in real life for a major sporting event, music acts could feature too — major artists whose likeness has been recreated in the metaverse — who will entertain the crowds between gaming rounds. You can watch your favourite team eventually win, then head back to the local tavern with your friends who joined you at the event. There you can sit and discuss all of your favourite moments in detail, which you would even be able to replay segments of — as your NFT ticket would have included a free recording of the game you can access whenever you wish. You could then decide to all go back, or instead head off to see another tournament for a completely different video game, hosted in the exact same metaverse as quick and easy as a click of the fingers — and you can do all of this without ever leaving your living room.
That is the type of genuine interoperability and connectedness that pioneering companies like League of Ancients are hoping to create. The revenue that would be generated from the aforementioned esporting events could then be utilised in large part to further expand and grow the metaverse itself, allowing yet more tournament styles, genres and features. With the Covid-19 pandemic still lingering at the back of people’s minds, the metaverse has become ever more appealing, and so the idea of being able to attend major esporting events and interact with both friends and new people alike, without ever having to put yourself at risk is quite an appealing one.
Plus, with the first League of Ancients title not even scheduled for release until Q4 2022, but hundreds of thousands of members already joining the community, it’s not hard to see how the company will be among the market leaders pushing the envelope of metaverses further than anyone ever thought possible.
Now that is a gaming future worth investing in.
P.S. League of Ancients will be imminently hosting the first of four presales for their much-sought-after NFT skins, which allows higher earning capacity in the game, and can be fused together to create rarer versions! If you would like to find out more about the presale, or League of Ancients in general, visit their website at www.leagueofancients.com and join their Discord at https://discord.gg/loa or Telegram at https://t.me/leagueofancients.
This article was written by the Wordsmith. Please note that the Wordsmith is not a financial advisor, and nothing written above should be taken as financial advice. Always do your own research and due diligence.
.
