In This Post
–What is Esports?
–The Exponential Growth of Global Esports Industry
–Popular Games Played Online
–The Man Behind the Achievement
–Rise of Esports In Pakistan
–Game Development In Pakistan
Update: (Feb 11, 2021): Sumail Hassan has made Pakistan proud with his outstanding gaming talent. Generating a fortune of $3.6 million by participating as a professional gamer in multiple international E-sports events to date, he now stands as the 11th richest pro gamer in the world.
Update (Jan 21, 2020): The Minister of Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has recently expressed his intentions to give official status to the E-sport industry in Pakistan. A memorandum between Pakistan Science Foundation and Pakistan Sports Board has already been signed in this regard. In one of his recent tweets, the minister promises opportunities for Pakistani gamers, hinting towards a bright future.
“If you are interested in video games, get ready and new opportunities are waiting for you,” tweeted Fawad Chaudhry.
By 2023, the worth of the global video gaming market is expected to hit the $200 billion dollar mark. To encourage the youth of Pakistan to be a part of this multi-billion dollar industry, Fawad Chaudhry even announced a special skill-development program targeting aspiring gaming professionals in November 2020.
Whether it’s the field of the economy, tourism or the global freelancing market, Pakistan is taking the world by storm. We saw how Pakistan’s economic outlook was recently accredited as ‘stable’ by Moody’s and how Conde Nast Traveller, an international travel publication, rated the country as the top tourist destination in the world for 2020. Similarly, Pakistan also emerged as the third-most revenue generating country in the global freelancing market last year. And our country has done it yet again! You’d be glad to know that Pakistan secured 11th position in global Esports earnings, thanks to the efforts of avid Pakistani gamers.
In this blog, we’ll learn more about the winners and the state of Esports in Pakistan.
Let’s begin!
What is Esports?
Esports is a type of sports-based on computer gaming. The field is primarily facilitated through digital systems and a global network of computers. Players and teams from all around the world interact with each other through an elaborate system of human-computer communication. The global esports industry now has a huge fan following and has transformed into one of the world’s fastest-growing industries.
Taking their passion to another level, gaming enthusiasts have started to make a proper living off video games. In fact, computer gaming, which was once disregarded as a profession, has now become a huge business. Individuals who are considered professionals in the field can earn millions of dollars that too before the age of 30. Two of the major ways to earn money through gaming are a) participating in Esports competitions and b) uploading video tutorials about their gaming skills on famous video broadcasting websites like YouTube and Dailymotion.
The Exponential Growth of Global Esports Industry
As per the latest statistics, the Esports industry has become one of the most lucrative industries in the world. In fact, the gaming industry achieved a milestone in 2019 after global Esports revenue exceeded the $1 billion mark. In terms of revenue and audience, the top three Esports markets in the world are Asia-Pacific (APAC), North America, and Europe, as per a report published in Business Insider last year.
Putting it in numbers, APAC now accounts for more than half (57%) of the global Esports viewership, which has grown from 51% in 2017. On the other hand, North America and Europe are set to cross $300 and $138 million marks on global Esports earnings, respectively. Keeping in view the current Esports market growth trends, it is projected that the global Esports earning may reach up to a staggering amount of $1.5 billion by 2023.
Meanwhile, the name of Johan Sundstein (pseudonym: N0tail) appeared as the highest-earning gamer in the world. He is the champion of DOTA 2 (Defence of the Ancients 2). Just at the age of 26, he claimed a total of $6,889,592 cash prizes from around 108 tournaments and championships that he won. With an average earning of $64 thousand from a single computer gaming competition, he is also the highest-earning gamer of all time.
Popular Games Played Online
Below is a list of some of the most popular esports played in international championships around the world.
- Counter-Strike 1.6 & Later Versions
- League of Legends
- Overwatch
- Fortnite
- Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG)
- Defence of the Ancient (DOTA)
- Hearthstone – Heroes of Warcraft
Pakistan Secured 11th Position in Global Esports Earnings – Who’s the Man Behind the Achievement?
All of it was possible because of Sumail Hassan, a 20-year-old from Karachi, who has earned up to $3,591,225 after taking part in at least 60 Esports tournaments. Sumail stepped into esports by joining Evil Geniuses, an Esports gaming organisation, a few years ago. As of now, he is the third-highest earning gamer in Esports in the world. However, the journey of Sumail’s success is an inspiring one. He started off by playing Dota 2 in one of the local gaming cafes since he could not afford to buy a personal computer. In 2015, at the age of 16, Sumail became the youngest gamer to surpass $1 million in Esports earnings. His name has also been included in the Gunnies World Record and Times Magazine, a well-known international publication, has had included Sumail Hassan in their list of “The 30 Most Influential Teens of 2016″.
Another Esports player who is making Pakistan proud is Yawar Hassan, the younger sibling of Sumail Hassan. Having a passion for gaming running in their blood, both Yawar and Sumail joined the field of Esports together from a very young age. As of now, he is ranked 310th in the list of top international gamers in the world. So far Yawar has successfully bagged around $377,026 after competing in 28 international Esports championships. He is counted among the top 400 Esports players in the world.
Rise of Esports In Pakistan
Video gaming is becoming increasingly popular among Pakistani teenagers, thanks, in part, to different platforms that help gamers earn a living through this form of sport. Esports Pakistan (ESPK), which is a large-scale E-Gaming organization, has also been developed in the country to provide computer gaming professionals with a proper platform to enhance their skills. It constructed its first Gaming Arena in Royal Palm Golf and Country Club Lahore. The Esports industry is growing day by day in Pakistan. Video gaming championships and tournaments are being frequently held in the country.
Esports Pakistan (ESPK) also encourages physically challenged people to participate in computer gaming championships to show off their gaming skills. The Esports Pakistan group currently has more than 3000 members (players), who regularly participate in different types of Esports activities organised throughout the country. The members of Esports Pakistan also provide significant financial support to the local gaming community in order to help it in coming up with more advanced platforms for the deserving players.
Game Development In Pakistan
The concept of game development in Pakistan has also picked up the pace in recent years. As per the latest statistical data, there are over 2.3 billion gamers around the world. This means the gaming industry has a huge potential for revenue generation. The first decade of the 21st century turned out to be a gamechanger for gaming in Pakistan. It was during this time when some of the avid gamers in the country took their love for computer gaming to the next level and flipped sides to become game developers from consumers. The journey of video game development in Pakistan started with the modification of existing games like the incorporation of new custom maps for Counter-Strike, which was the most famous multiplayer game, being actively played with the help of LANs (local area networks) of that time. Later on, gaming experts also started to alter other digital elements in a game to suit the taste and preferences of the local gamers.
Finally, in the late 2000s, game development began in Pakistan as gaming studios like Tango Interactive and Fork Particle were established in Islamabad. The first few games that were developed locally were basic indie PC and mobile games. Over the course of these years, the local game industry witnessed many successes and failures, alongside with its growth. Cricket Revolution, which was developed in collaboration with Codemaster, a globally recognised game developer and publisher. It was the very first locally developed videogame to land on Steam, an internationally acclaimed platform, which manages and distributes the installation and use of games.
As per a recent survey, there are over 8,500 Pakistanis who are serving the field of game development internationally. Pakistani developers are working for different types of digital studios and video game development organisations found across the globe. They have been developing software for some of the most famous platforms in the world including PlayStation, Xbox, VR Gaming, digital tabletop games (with AR technology) and online games for web browsers.
It is all because of these individual and community-level efforts by avid games and video game developers that Pakistan secured 11th position in global Esports earnings. This brings us to the end of this piece. We hope you have enjoyed reading it. If you have any queries or suggestions, feel free to email us at blog@zameen.com. We’ll try to get back to you as soon as possible.
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