Mentioned in this article Games: League of Legends

Alex Fletcher is Founder & President at Entiva Group, LLC, which develops innovative talent and intelligence solutions for the eSports industry. When he isn’t glued to a screen, he spends time with his wife, their two dogs, and pretends to learn Polish. You can reach him at afletcher@entivagroup.net or on Twitter at @FletchUnleashed for the latest on eSports insight and news. Also join his newsletter – https://tinyletter.com/afletcher

There is a diversity gap in eSports. However, it isn’t drawn across lines of age, race, or gender. The diversity issue lies in the shortage of out-of-industry professionals contributing to the space. Yet, as the industry around competitive gaming continues to grow, it will depend on a strong pipeline of external talent into the greater community. This will bring crucial diversity of thought and perspective that will propel eSports to even greater heights.

Ecosystems win. Silos topple

The current success of eSports can be attributed, almost exclusively, to its community of committed enthusiasts. A strong backbone of gamers built the foundation upon which today’s levels of mainstream traction, career opportunities, and more, are all fashioned. This has created a hyper selectivity for passion amongst eSports contributors, which isn’t, necessarily, a bad thing. However, as a global marketplace and industry surrounding eSports continues to evolve, it can be a limiting factor. Especially since there are large segments of the world’s population entirely unfamiliar with competitive gaming, and video gaming culture, in general.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“The passionate fire of the community must now be bolstered by mainstream acceptance and corporate investment for the industry to evolve further and this exposure can only be brought about by out-of-industry professionals.” – Joe Hills, Associate Director of AGP, on recruiting within eSports[/perfectpullquote]

In that light, eSports must begin to develop as an ecosystem as opposed to a silo. The clubhouse mentality of “we’ve gotten this far on our own” or “us versus the world” cannot persist in the face of continued growth. The wealth of experience and knowledge, currently outside the community, must be brought into the fold to progress through the next phases of development. This includes hiring for jobs but also contributions of all stripes. In the past, eSports has been, almost exclusively, a youth movement. Today’s climate calls for the involvement of not only older generations, but also those less inclined as gamers, to contribute to moving the needle forward.

Waiting in line

Unfortunately, the prospect of building a talent pipeline into the eSports industry entails complications. Specifically, a long history of volunteer work as a precursor to paid positions. Most, if not all, positions of note in eSports are preceded by years of unpaid effort. Resumes often read like the script of a free laborer. And with so many passionate and committed individuals still waiting their turn, focusing on attracting outside talent might seem inequitable. However, this must not cause myopic approaches to staffing, hiring and even collaboration. At the end of the day, a thriving industry around eSports will be built on cross-pollination of various skillsets, backgrounds and levels of enthusiasm.

The calendar year of 2015, alone, brought tremendous growth and expansion to the eSports marketplace (see figure 1). In essence, the pie is growing; leaving the overall atmosphere in 2016, drastically different from even two years ago. A stable job in eSports is no longer an oxymoron. Meaning, the notion of meritocracy should not be confused with a “totem pole” mentality. As is the case in every other major industry, eSports must encourage and support the transfer of lateral experience from other domains. Case in point, one of North America’s most successful eSports organizations, Team Solomid (TSM), hired a coach for its League of Legends team who lacked prior eSports experience. TSM’s approach of bringing in the best available candidate, with or without a strong competitive gaming pedigree, must become more widely accepted.

Moving forward

Addressing the diversity gap in eSports is a process, involving several steps. Among them, the value of out-of-industry professionals should be embraced by the at-large community. This entails the adoption of traditional talent sourcing practices, e.g. involving recruiting professionals and assuming standard hiring practices. Opportunities must also be circulated outside closed networks. Obviously, this is dependent on higher levels of general awareness regarding eSports; although this is fast occurring.

Whereas fields like traditional sports can rely on full integration into the overall social fabric, eSports must utilize innovative outreach and its role as a nexus between technology, media and sport to attract out-of-industry talent. These adjacent, overlapping domains are home to qualified individuals who should be increasingly considered for roles in the eSports industry. Doing so isn’t an exercise of fairmindedness, but critical to continuing progress and building sustainability.