Load the Game

Mobile eSports are becoming increasingly popular, $2 million in prize money awarded this year alone

• Egon Kilin
• November 13th, 2014

The eSports industry has been growing at a steady pace these last few years and will continue to get even bigger as more and more competitive games are being released. Big titles like Starcraft 2, League of Legends, or Call of Duty regularly have huge tournaments with lots of money on the line, but this industry is comprised out of much more than FPS, RTS, and MOBA games. What about mobile eSports? This is one branch of the industry that’s rarely being discussed even though its popularity has increased tremendously as of late. Skillz, the leading company in mobile eSports has announced recently that more than $2 million have already been awarded to players for winning at various mobile games this year alone.

Skillz is the world leader when it comes to mobile eSports and the company revealed some very interesting things about the people who play these games on a regular basis. While most of the players who dabble in PC or console competitive games are male, a lot of those who prefer the mobile platforms are female and well past their teenage years. According to Skillz, almost half out of all mobile eSports gamers are women and 65 percent of them are between the ages of 25 and 44. The company’s demographics also show that about 38 percent of their players are married and nearly 30 percent have children.

Interestingly, Skillz claims that there have been more than 300 players over the age of 65 that won $35,000 out of the $2 million prize pool. This just goes to show you that eSports, and gaming in general is not just for young men like many people seem to believe. “Our mantra, eSports for everyone, is not just lip service,” said Andrew Paradise, CEO and Founder of Skillz. “We are proud to have built such a diverse and active community of competitors. There’s no reason that eSports have to be some sort of boy’s club, and we’re happy to lead the charge in creating a more inclusive industry.”