Esports is bigger than ever and will continue growing as more viewers turn to competitive Esports, and more games offer players the opportunity to compete. The rise in popularity is due to many reasons, including the high-octane nature of the sport, the accessibility of the various games, and the vast range of Esports available for people to compete and watch.
Around the world, arenas pack out for games as avid fans come to watch their favorite players dominate or be dominated in the virtual world. Now, with the meteoric rise of VR and AR technologies, the need to physically visit an arena may be a thing of the past, as the platform could offer a much more immersive and exciting experience.
A patient wearing a virtual reality headset, experiencing the immersive world of virtualized healthcare.
Virtual Reality in The Virtual Arena
VR or virtual reality is fast becoming a technology to pay attention to in the gaming world. With many companies focusing their efforts on creating much more immersive and functional headsets, the chance to be right in the game has never been closer. This has a number of impacts on the Esports industry, both for players and for the audience.
The Potential for VR and AR in Esports
The table below highlights the potential benefits of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) in the realm of esports:
| Benefit | VR | AR |
|---|---|---|
| Immersive viewing | High | Medium |
| Enhanced player training | High | Medium |
| Interactive fan experiences | Medium | High |
| Unique event possibilities | High | High |
| Accessibility | Medium | High |
A New Way to Play
The market is open for the first VR headset to be considered for Esports competitive play. According to casino reviewer Slotozilla the technology is already used in many VR games, such as the popular rhythm game BeatSaber, and even online casinos. However, for VR to be used at a competitive level, some parameters have to be met.
As technology progresses, we are inching closer to seeing first-person shooters, racing games, and even sports games make the leap from mouse and keyboard monitor setups to fully immersive VR. As soon as virtual reality can match the older option for frames per second, response time, and detail, we may see esports players migrate to headsets over monitors.
Front Row Seats
Currently, the best way to experience any esports event is in the arena. The audience, excitement, and visual setups can match even the biggest sporting events. Annually, Esports pulls in a phenomenal 540 million global viewers. Many of these watch from home rather than visiting the events themselves. But, with the improvements to more commercially available virtual reality headsets, there could soon be a new way to view.
Virtual reality could push the limits of how immersive Esports could be for the audience. Not only can the headsets be used to view the VR games in a much more visually intense way, but they also offer a full 360-degree view of the action in the game. The audience no longer needs to sit apart from the game, watching the action on a screen; they can be virtually involved, as close to the game as they like.
Interactive Audience AR
While the future of virtual reality in the Esports industry promises to offer a much more immersive and exciting experience for the players and audience, augmented reality can also play a huge part in the arena. Implementing AR into the games can provide all sorts of new interactive and immersive options for viewers of the various games.
On Hand Overlays
Augmented reality is all about bringing technology to the forefront and making everything as convenient as possible. Using augmented reality, simply pointing your phone at a player could quickly bring up their stats, current scores, builds and load-outs, and much more information that would usually have to be searched for.
Using augmented reality, the audience could interact with how the game is being shown, quickly switching between players and interacting with the various camera angles, creating a much more personalized viewing experience. As it stands now, the arenas of Esports, like most sports, will have a team that chooses the best cameras and angles for the action playing out on screen. It is up to the commentators to provide insight and knowledge of the players and their strategies. However, implementing AR into the esports arena could make this entire experience one for every player’s personal preference.
A Brief Look at the Possibilities of VR and AR in Esports
List of Potential VR and AR Applications in Esports:
• Immersive viewing experiences: VR headsets can provide a 360-degree view of the match.
• Enhanced player training: VR can create realistic training environments for professional gamers.
• Interactive fan experiences: AR can provide additional context and information for viewers.
• Hybrid esports arenas: Combining physical and digital elements to create unique experiences.
• Digital esports arenas: Entirely virtual environments for competitions and fan interaction.
It’s easy to see how much VR and AR could influence the Esports arena, transforming how the players play and the audience experience. With proper implementation and the backing of technology and software to support it, Esports could become one of the world’s most exciting and immersive sports to watch.
Getting Involved
When first thinking about the potential benefits of AR and VR in the video game industry, we first think about the gamers. Of course, this change may be coming sooner than we believe in the Esports arena. Many games, such as racing simulators, offer incredibly immersive and accurate experiences. However, the technology simply isn’t as fast or precise as a high-end PC, so, at a competitive level, a PC comes out on top. This is all changing, though, and we may see many players choosing VR over monitors.
VR in the Esports arena could shine in audience experience. With the implementation of VR and AR, audiences can be more immersed in the action than ever before. We may soon see VR-wearing members populate the stands of Esports football matches. First-person Shooters could be experienced, blow by blow, from within the map itself.