Esports has easily become one of the hottest developments of the 21st century—at least when it comes to entertainment and technology. Still, it can be hard to define what, exactly, constitutes an eSport. Today, most would agree that, at its broadest, Esports simply turns an online game into a spectator sport.

In other words, anything viewed online as a digital competition can be labeled as an eSport—but there’s still something lacking. After all, top eSports today tend to involve quite a bit of fanfare, international organizational infrastructure, and salaried gamers who are treated increasingly like pro athletes.

But many games still straddle the line of eSports and recreation. Let’s take a look at poker as an example, which has been part of the eSports debate for years now. Back in 2020, one online tournament accrued over 60,000 viewers—which would put the game squarely in eSports territory. However, poker challenges players mentally and strategically, which is a bit different than the hand-eye precision necessary for an LoL or CS:GO player.

Toss in poker’s massive (and growing) presence on Twitch and the delineation becomes even more challenging. Clearly, some games (like poker) can straddle the line between eSports and digital gaming. Which other games are in a similar position? And which titles are projected to evolve quickly into an official eSport?

NBA & MLS Launch Leagues

One prerequisite for eSports is the presence of a League or series. Two of the latest launches in the industry come from sports simulations, including the upcoming eMLS from EA Sports (FIFA) and the NBA 2K League from Take-Two Interactive. The former runs alongside North America’s MLS league, while the latter follows its NBA.

The eMLS joined the global eFIFA World Cup back in 2018. Since then, it’s served as a qualifier for the annual main event. The NBA 2K League launched in the same year. The primary viewing channel for both is Twitch. The NBA’s league has taken off faster than the eMLS; in the last 30 days, it has streamed almost 60 hours of live play with an average of over 12,000 viewers.

Failure to Launch: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

For fans of fighting games, there’s a lot of confusion revolving around the rebooted Marvel-Capcom partnership. Back in 2017, the launch was announced to major fanfare… but then things took off in a new direction in 2018 and 2019. Fans were treated to a short-lived series of competitions… and have been eagerly waiting for another chance at an Infinite league.

So, what happened? MVCI couldn’t top a previous release from 2011, the Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. However, MVCI players still have a massive presence on both YouTube and Twitch—and with thousands still viewing streamers, there’s always a chance that a fringe league could develop.

Growing Pains: Quake Champions

Not all fans run out of luck when it comes to seeing their favorite game evolve into an eSport. This is certainly the case with Quake Champions, an FPS arena shooter that relaunched in 2022 after almost two decades. However, the first pro leagues were launched in 2019, two years after the game’s limited first release.

The Quake Pro League (QPL) is active in Asia, Europe, South America, and North America. It benefitted from a huge boom in attention following its limited 2018 release, then went on to nab awards at the Gamers’ Choice Awards, including the ‘fan-favorite shooter game’. So, why haven’t more gamers heard of Quake Champions or played it? The game is currently offered on a free-to-play model, which hasn’t been able to compete with other FPSs.

Players have found it less engaging than similar titles—which hasn’t boded well for the official eSports league. Still, how does the game support an ongoing QPL will such a lackluster greeting from fans—especially when the opposite is true of a game like MVCI? For Quake, there seems to be a very vested interest from Bethesda Gaming to turn it into a global triumph.