Another Path? Searching For Esports Sustainability Outside of the West

In a recent article, I examined whether esports’ evolving business models were truly striving for sustainability or merely replacing old financial dependencies with new ones. The response was mixed, and understandably so—many have worked tirelessly to pull the industry out of the so-called esports winter.

But the major critique leveled at my tear down of the new esports sustainability was my focus on Western esports and games such as Dota 2, League of Legends, and Counter-Strike. This is correct, as my focus had mainly been on what I would point to as the largest esports games in the world from a Western perspective, and didn’t take into account major titles that are more popular outside of Europe and North America. So in this piece, I wanted to dig into other titles, and their attempts to build out a sustainable model of esports.

Titles such as Honor of Kings, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and Battlegrounds Mobile India emerged as examples worth exploring. Each boasts a massive following, substantial prize pools, and significant fan engagement. Proponents argue that these games have achieved a level of stability where others struggle—a claim that merits investigation in the broader conversation about esports’ future.