Esports and the New Gaming Culture

Gr 7 Up–This title details the world of esports. According to Steffens, young adults watch more esports online and on television than they do traditional sports, such as football or basketball. The text states, “454 million people watched esports on television and online in 2019, an increase of 15 percent over 2018. More people watch esports than Netflix, Hulu, ESPN, and HBO put together.” The text defines the phenomenon of esports as a true sport because it is competitive, there are millions of fans, and players must develop mental and physical skills to be successful at the games. Current statistics are sprinkled throughout, including the salaries of professional players and numbers of influencers in professional sports who are investing in esports teams. For example, “Esports players received more than $211 million in prize pool money in 2019.” The text concludes with chapters explaining the rise of teams at the high school and college level and describes esports scholarships available at some universities. A resource list of books and websites and an index are included.