Esports have been treated almost the same way as other professional sports. It can garner even bigger fan bases as the tournaments are broadcasted across the globe. Professional esports players get paid wealthy sums of money for it as well with salaries, brand deals, and image rights. The question that lurks is why the average age of retirement for these athletes is in the mid-20s.
Other leagues, including NBA, NHL, and the premier league, have athletes well past their 20s. Some athletes are still playing well into their late 30s and early 40s. For esports, one would think that players are just sitting down; they should last longer, right? Continue reading to learn more about why esports players call it quits, maybe a little bit too early.
Games Go Out Of Fashion
The growth rate of technology in today’s era is the fastest ever. In the gaming industry, innovation is the key to staying ahead. It is common today that games quickly skyrocket to global dominance. Popular esports games like Fortnite, PUBG, and MMORPGs have gone from indie to worldwide phenomenon.
Sadly, most of these games fall as fast as they rose to the top. A battle royale game can lose its fanbase just as soon as a new battle royale game hits the market. A lot of factors go into this. Professional gamers, influencers, and other online personalities can post about a particular game. People will be on it as fast as possible.
This kind of trend doesn’t favor professional gamers. Each game has distinct mechanics, dynamics, and gameplay that gamers study and master. These skills don’t transcend the different games. For instance, transitioning from PUBG to Fortnite isn’t easy. When most pro gamers master a game, a new hot game has already hit the market.
More Players Become Excellent
There isn’t a school or class that offers expertise for most of these games. The only way for most individuals to get better at one game is by playing. The gamers who play first master it earlier. The learning curve for everyone is different. Some would take longer to get better compared to others.
Many players improve over time. And with games that age more, the number of players who succeed increases. Therefore, more players get to reach the highest level. When that happens, the value of great players decreases since they are no longer scarce anymore. That is another factor for the early retirement of professional players.
Players Fail To Manage Their Personal Brand
Not everyone can be a Ninja. Most professional esports athletes fail to brand themselves properly. These individuals focus more on perfecting their skills in games. In the process, they forget about the fanbases. A lack of brand deals or sponsorships fails to sustain the costs of a gaming career.
Most popular gamers take advantage of social media platforms to promote themselves. That includes Youtube and Twitch. They pay more attention to their personality and aesthetics to attract like-minded individuals. Sometimes, exceptional skills aren’t enough to garner a huge following.
Mentally Hard
Many of the professional tournaments in esports do not compensate for a lot of their players. Unlike the NBA or NFL, not all esports players have guaranteed money whether they win or lose. Most of the time, the top 3-5 teams of tournaments are the only ones with monetary prizes.
The lifestyle of a gamer is also very challenging mentally. Most of these esports professionals have their own setup at home. The schedules are intense; practicing more than 10 hours every day. Some even just take breaks for eating and personal hygiene. It is very taxing for both their mental and physical health.
Not Every Professional Player Is a Superstar
Only a few percentages of gamers are very well paid. This creates the notion that if esports players aren’t superstars, their pay is not big enough. That would make it hard to transition from having a day job and gaming to pursuing gaming full-time.
The truth is, in any profession you have the 1% making incredible amounts of money, but you then have a great share of high-quality gamers being paid a very good salary without being in the millions, or hundreds of thousands.
Think about it this way… Any professional getting paid $10,000 per month is amazing, but somehow, for sports and esports, it’s a low salary.
Indeed, most professional gamers retire in their mid-20s, but it might be a good thing after all. It is better to find a more consistent and safe means of livelihood before it’s too late.