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As soon as once more Riot Video games’ League of Legends was essentially the most impactful PC recreation. Being the landmark for essentially the most impactful esports-related PC video games, League of Legends was joined by Valve’s Counter-Strike: World Offensive and Epic Video games’ Fortnite within the TEO PC Video games Impression Index’s Tier 1 class.
The consequences of COVID-19 insurance policies on esports competitions carried over from 2020, leading to a number of video games corresponding to Rainbow Six Siege and Rocket League underperforming. Moreover, the primary quarter is typically the interval of the yr internet hosting the bottom depend of main esports tournaments. This seasonality of esports competitors is mirrored in The Esports Observer’s PC Video games Impression Index for the first quarter of 2021. For an in depth breakdown of the important thing efficiency indicators that decide a recreation’s Index rating, click on right here to evaluation 2018’s preliminary Impression Index report.
League of Legends Stays Prime Esports Title
A significant a part of League of Legends’ dominance over the Impression Index stems from the sport’s huge participant base. Moreover, the sport as soon as once more was the most-watched title on stay streaming platform Twitch throughout the primary quarter of the yr.
{Most professional} League of Legends regional leagues began in mid-January and generated secure viewership all through the quarter. Riot Video games reported viewership by hours watched for its Los Angeles-based League of Legends Championship Sequence (LCS) elevated by 30% for the complete spring cut up season in comparison with final yr, whereas viewership by hours watched for its Berlin-based League of Legends European Championship (LEC) grew by greater than 40% year-over-year.
Robust Begin into the 12 months
An early begin into its 2021 aggressive yr helped Counter-Strike: World Offensive safe the Impression Index rank 2 similar to final yr. All through the quarter, greater than 80 Counter-Strike: World Offensive tournaments have been held and $3.6M was distributed in prize swimming pools. The sport’s aggressive yr was kicked off with the $1M BLAST Premier: World Finals in January gained by Natus Vincere and the $1M Intel Excessive Masters XV – World Championship in February gained by Gambit.
Return Royale
Whereas Fortnite’s aggressive scene has been lagging behind most different esports titles all through the final yr, the regionalized Fortnite Champion Sequence: Chapter 2 Season 5 – Grand Finals, which Fortnite developer Epic Video games organized, paid out a collective prize pool of simply over $3M. Whereas COVID-19 triggered a normal lower in esports tournaments run, Fortnite offered the third-largest prize pool all through Q1 2021 serving to the title secure rank 3 on the Impression Index.
On the Rise
Whereas spiking as a Tier 1 recreation throughout the playoffs of the inaugural Name of Responsibility League (CDL) season, Name of Responsibility: Fashionable Warfare maintained sturdy Twitch viewership and the third-highest participant base simply falling quick to League of Legends and Counter-Strike: World Offensive. Since the Name of Responsibility League’s 2021 season options Name of Responsibility: Black Ops Chilly Struggle the recreation’s esports scene’s prize swimming pools didn’t exceed $1M.
Robust Twitch viewership numbers and the $7.1M PUBG World Invitational 2021 helped PlayerUnkown’s Battlegrounds to safe rank No. 5 of the Q1 Impression Index. The PUBG World Invitational was one of many first in-person occasions in 2021 going down in Incheon, Korea. Individuals from China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau competed from LAN venues of their respective international locations whereas the remaining groups underwent a two-week quarantine earlier than taking half within the six-week league.
Riot Video games’ first-person shooter Valorant noticed its viewership and participant base numbers drop off reasonably in comparison with when the sport first launched in summer time 2020. Its viewership for the quarter was just like its first-person shooter competitor Counter-Strike: World Offensive whereas its participant base dropped beneath Counter-Strike: World Offensive, Name of Responsibility: Fashionable Warfare, and Fortnite.
Crippled by the Pandemic
The viewership and prize cash contribution from the regionalized Rocket League Championship Sequence Season X helped Rocket League enhance its rating to No. 7 on the Impression Index. A number of regional occasions which are a part of the RLCS Season X paid out $100K prize swimming pools.
Valve’s Dota 2 stays one of many titles considerably affected by the continued COVID-19 pandemic. Pushed by the regionalized Dota Professional Circuit Season 1 2021, Dota 2 was capable of retain some relevance and place rank No. 8 on the Impression Index.
Digital Arts’ Apex Legends was the sixth most watched Impression Index eligible recreation on Twitch and the seventh most performed recreation throughout Q1 2021. Whereas the dearth of main esports tournaments for the sport was barely offset by the regionalized Apex Legends World Sequence Winter Circuit the sport’s at present comparatively small esports scene resulted in Apex Legends inserting No. 9 on the Impression Index.
World of Warcraft, Rainbow Six Siege, Overwatch, and FIFA 21 – The Midfield
Activision Blizzard’s World of Warcraft is among the few esports titles thriving beneath the present circumstances. The sport’s continued success is pushed by its Twitch viewership and the Area World Championship, which began in March.
Most likely the largest loser of the present circumstances is Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege, which plummeted from a Tier 1 rank in Q1 2020 to rank No. 13 in Q3 2020 and continues to stay outdoors of the Prime 10. The primary contributor to the sport’s current downfall is the dearth of main competitions.
Because the Overwatch League was in its offseason throughout Q1, the sport’s viewership stats plummeted. As a result of the identical was true for Overwatch’s complete esports ecosystem, with solely minor tournaments held throughout Q1, the sport dropped again into Tier 3 similar to in the identical interval of final yr.
Digital Arts’ FIFA 21 claimed rank No. 13 on the Impression Index. The sport’s impression on the esports ecosystem is underlined by its viewership and success of its esports initiatives, together with the FIFA 21 World Sequence, which was kicked off throughout Q1 2021.
Making the Minimize
Hearthstone, which is among the recreation ecosystems that historically sees little competitors of the primary quarter of a yr, stored a sport on the Impression Index’s Prime 15 resulting from its lively participant base and Twitch viewership numbers.
The final spot on the Q3 2020 rating was secured by Hello-Rez Studios’ third individual MOBA Smite, which made its comeback into the Prime 15 of this rating because of strong viewership and coming off effectively within the esports tournaments rankings as different recreation’s esports scene are at present comparatively inactive.
The esports initiatives of most video games talked about on this article have been severely affected by COVID-19 insurance policies. Try our COVID-19 protection on all issues esports enterprise to study concerning the newest developments within the ecosystem.
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