Mentioned in this article Games: Dota 2

A Dota 2 tournament with $3 million at stake, a Chinese production company that fell down on the job, and a notorious chatterbox hired and fired as the host—this weekend’s Shanghai Major hit rock bottom in the blink of an eye. If you somehow missed all the drama, you can recap the events in countless posts and articles, some tending to side with the now-unemployed James “2GD” Harding, others slightly in favor of Valve boss, Gabe Newell, who did the firing.

The incident has triggered a debate over the cultural paradigms of esports. As a grassroots movement, esports has always had its own culture and spirit. It was a long and bumpy ride from mom’s basement to the grand sports stadiums. But here it is: esports is now in the spotlight of mainstream attention, argus-eyed by most, not welcomed by many. This attention has caused a sudden reconsideration of what was formerly held most dear. Is it still OK to cheer when the terrorists-side team wins in Counter-Strike? Is the “Grill” meme actually misogynist? Is it offensive to open the broadcast of the Shanghai Major with a porn joke including disabled Chinese women?

The esports community is split. Some say that’s how it is. Fans cheer for epic headshots, and love to see champions rip each other apart in the arena. It is like the bloodthirsty crowd in the coliseum begging for bread and circuses. “Esports is edgy.”

Others say that’s the past. Now, esports is civilized, they say. Nobody should drop the f-bomb on air anymore, the talent should be suited and buttoned up, it’s a family show. They say, esports is a sport and our professionals need to act appropriately. “It’s time for esports to grow up.”

Just like a teenager suddenly rekt by the unstoppable force of puberty, esports is trying to figure out where it wants to go and what it wants to be. Which paradigms does it keep? Which will it throw overboard? Esports’ economy has developed faster than its society. Now, the society is hurrying to catch up, and conflicts arise among its members. Many have realized, consciously or subconsciously, that today’s decisions will point the way ahead. It’s about nothing less than the underlying ethic and attitude for the coming decades.

Ethic and attitude are wordy concepts, though. They get negotiated in a steady back and forth.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]A reasonable compromise is needed between economic demands and long-established attitudes and habits.[/perfectpullquote]

Economic growth, once it has found fertile ground, doesn’t care about such sociocultural concepts—it works perfectly fine without them indeed. However, a sustainable ecosystem can’t rely on only one pillar. In fact, the esports economy will stall at some point if cultural conflicts aren’t settled. That’s why a reasonable compromise is needed between economic demands and long-established attitudes and habits.

At the very heart of this debate, all parties involved will agree on one claim: esports has to entertain.

For some, this entertainment comes from edgy banter, dirty jokes, hilarious Twitch memes, and cringeworthy after-match interviews. And yes, those are a part of esports just as much as the games, the teams, and the culture. In fact, neither side can exist without the other.

But, nothing is free. Pro-players, shoutcasters, analysts, production staff, equipment, the venue, travel, and accommodation—it all needs to be paid. And let’s be very clear: it’s not the fans who pay the bigger chunks. Merchandise, ticket sales, subscriptions, sticker money, sure, the viewers are involved. But without sponsors, partners, and patrons, esports would be nowhere.

Just take a look at the numbers. According to market researcher SuperData, the global esports market was valued at $748 million in 2015. Brand advertizing and sponsorships accounted for 77 per cent. Three out of four dollars came from sponsors and ads. Whereas ticket sales and merchandise combined only accounted for four per cent, some $30 million. So if esports wants more prize money, better salaries, more full-time careers, bigger stadium events, high-quality broadcast, etc., it needs solvent sponsors and advertizers who are willing to pay.

Fortunately, there’s an increasing amount of companies out there who value the esports demographic as potential customers. And of course, those companies want to be represented in a positive shape. Once they put their name and logo on an event, team, or league, they will (and want to) be associated with it. Bad press for its partner, now becomes bad press for the sponsor as well.

It can get to a point, where the sponsor’s name becomes the byword for a scandal. The iBuyPower match-fixing incident is one example. A lot of people won’t remember the players involved, or the tournament where it took place—but yet, almost everyone understands the reference immediately. Basically, the iBuyPower brand is synonymous with match-fixing in esports, even though the brand had nothing to do with the match-fixing itself. Since then, every time iBuyPower went into a sponsorship, sneering comments were all over the place.

Another example is G2A. The video games marketplace and reseller is a widespread sponsor in the industry. According to its own statements, G2A invested over $6 million in esports sponsorships. Unfortunately, the company got a lot of public flak recently. After an unsettled dispute with Riot Games, G2A was banned as a jersey sponsor in all professional LoL leagues. A bitter pill to swallow and seemingly reason enough to launch a somewhat silly campaign against Riot. As if this wasn’t enough, word has been that G2A doesn’t fulfill its sponsoring duties with some of their partners. Payments have either been late or didn’t turn up at all, claimed Jason Bass, co-owner of compLexity Gaming in October. Although the quarrel with compLexity has been settled recently, it leaves a sour taste.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]G2A is that sort of company the esports industry needs right now, but not the one it deserves.[/perfectpullquote]

G2A is that sort of company the esports industry needs right now, but not the one it deserves. In the absence of a better alternative, teams and organizations bite the bullet and partner up with a company that’s (i) operating in a gray market area, (ii) doesn’t cover itself in glory when it comes to its public relations, and (iii) has appeared to be a tardy payer. Esports organizations eagerly in need of sponsorship money turn a blind eye to higher standards. And if one thing can be said about G2A, it’s that the company really don’t seem to care about professionalism at all.

Most sponsors do, however, and so they have a wary eye on cases like James “2GD” Harding’s at Shanghai Major. There might be a lot more coming into play about the incident, like behind the scenes rivalries and bad blood, the likes Harding mentioned in his extensive blog post. From the perspective of a sponsor, those personal affectivities don’t matter. What matters is what the public thinks about their brand, not only the viewers of a particular event, but the public in general. A sponsor doesn’t simply risk promising business relations for the sake of banter. What if a major Chinese business partner feels offended by jokes like the one Harding opened up with? It’s just not worth it.

That’s the simple truth. That’s why recently a lot of league operators and tournament organizers are tending towards “more professionalism and less personality” in their shows. It’s about money. Money that comes from sponsors who don’t want to take the risk to be put on the wrong complexion. And if esports wants to grow, more money and more sponsors are needed, so is more professionalism.

Does that mean esports loses its roots, its identity? No. But some of its childishness and naivety is bound to go out the window. An entertaining cast doesn’t need edgy banter on the borderline to indelicacy. The duo Erik “DoA” Lonnquist and Christopher “MonteCristo” Mykles gives a good example for a professional cast spiced with great personality. They are highly entertaining due to making witty puns and pop-cultural references. Rarely will you witness one of them getting carried away.

Coming of age can be brutal but it’s not the end of the west. Esports will keep its uniqueness even if it borrows some of the habits from established traditional sports. The important thing to remember: even a simple mistake can have devastating, life-ruining effects if made in the wrong place and noticed by the wrong people. Making a career out of being edgy in an industry that is increasingly public and expansive is the same as playing with fire.

It can be done, but the question that really needs to be asked is, does it need to be?