What Video Games Are Perfect for College Esports?

What Makes a Game College Esports Ready?

With esports on the rise at the collegiate level, schools must consider what video games they should develop an esports team for. Now, not all video games can be made into an esport. Some games require some multiplayer game mode that is popular among a substantial amount of people. In addition, it must be a game that is popular enough that other schools are also developing teams for it. With that being said, there are quite a few games that fit within this agenda.

Overwatch

Overwatch is a first-person shooter which Activision Blizzard released in 2016. Since the release of the game, it has grown quite the fanbase. It has grown so much that Blizzard created their esports league in 2018 called the Overwatch League. Overwatch League has been a success for Blizzard ever since they introduced it. It was so much of a success that Blizzard decided to do something for the collegiate level.

Activision Blizzard created Overwatch Collegiate, which is a competitive experience for gamers in North America. It allows students of any level to build their team based on their college and compete against other schools in a two-month-long open tournament. Over $27,000 is on the line for this current season of play. Colleges have to register the team through the link provided on the Overwatch Collegiate website. This makes it easy for colleges, as they do not have to look around to find opponents. Thus, making Overwatch an easy-to implement game for college campuses esports.

Valorant

Valorant is another first-person shooter that was developed and released by Riot Games in 2020. Upon release, the game was already being talked about extensively in the esports scene. After it was released, many professional esports organizations picked up pro players to form their very own Valorant teams. Nowadays, many gamers are trying to compete to get put onto one of these said teams. In the collegiate scene, one organization that is trying to help those players get to that level.

Conference One is an organization that is trying to help colleges with Valorant esports. They will host numerous Valorant tournaments that are open to any college/university. Registration for these tournaments is free. Conference One will be offering scholarships to players as well! Thus, making Valorant another esport that colleges can use through the help of Conference One.

To Conclude…

Overwatch and Valorant are two video games that can easily be implemented into the colligate scene. Both have programs, either developed by the game’s publisher or by a third party, that can help colleges with the development process. These programs make it easier for colleges/universities to focus more on creating the esports team rather than how or where they will compete.