The chart and corresponding comments below have been provided by Jens Hilgers (Twitter, Linkedin), CEO of DOJO Madness and Founding Partner of BITKRAFT Esports Ventures.

Things to consider when reading

This is not a perfect chart. It is a logical, data-driven approach to understanding the relevance of games in Esports.

The data included in this graph is not easily accessible, specifically the game MAU’s are oftentimes not reported by game publishers. SuperData has been immensely helpful when it comes to accessing data impossible to verify on official channels. Huge thanks to these guys for their support.

This chart has a global focus. Some games are only popular in specific regions, and therefore, did not make the list, or are in a lower tier than one might expect. For example, Super Smash Bros. is extremely popular in the States, but not in Europe. The regional popularity combined with few major tournaments and relatively low prize money, secured its place at Tier 3. If your favorite game, or a game you know is popular in your specific country, didn’t make the chart it was not intended as an insult to you or your community.

With access to additional data on this update, some of the games we previously listed in Tier 3 have now dropped out simply because the data we found would no longer qualify them.

General observations

The only significant addition in the last year is OVERWATCH actually leaping into Tier 2. It is also worth noting that Pointblank was not on our list last time but it’s huge in Asia, as is Crossfire. After all, those games underline that Asia is huge in FPS (not only RTS/Strategy) as well.

The fact that not much has changed in the last year is in and of itself a big story that is having a visible impact on the Esports ecosystem. In the nineteen years that I’ve been involved in Esports, each time a new Tier 1 game was born I witnessed the most significant growth push for Esports overall. While Esports continues to grow regardless of any such new game, we haven’t seen the same acceleration or impulse that we did when, for example, the last two Tier 1 games (League of Legends and Hearthstone) launched. Historically, on average, every three years a new Tier 1 contender is produced. Statistically, a new Tier 1 game is due. The question is will it be Overwatch, or an entirely new IP that will launch this year? That’s a question that will be answered in 2017. In other words: We all really want so see a #5 in the Top Tier of Esports games. It will be the biggest of all accelerators of Esports growth.

Full disclose: Hilgers is a seed investor in eSports Business Solutions UG, the company behind The Esports Observer brand and its verticals.