The games that gamers will be playing during the eGames in Rio have been announced. It will be played like the Olympics are right now in Rio, with players representing their countries competing for medals and international glory among the eSports community. Players heading to Rio will be playing Hi-Rez’s gods-brawler Smite and Super Smash Bros on the Wii U.
It’s certainly an experimental reward system for an international tournament; usually teams or individual players would be playing for a large sum of money that will only fit on a super long check. Phillipa Ward of rockpapershotgun criticizes the reward format.
Take the two biggest competitive MOBAs as an example. League of Legends teams around this time are dealing with playoffs and then transitioning into training for Worlds. Top tier Dota 2 teams are preparing for and then competing in The International which has that massive prize pool instead of “medals and kudos”. So, for games like that it’s disruptive to a pre-existing scene if you want that top tier presence.
Another problem with the format is the international aspect. Ward also has a criticism of the international implications.
Some teams are composed of players from a single country but so many others are international. Would they have to forge new relationships and work with rivals in order to compete, potentially giving away information that would affect events in the regular season or tournaments?
The eGames was released as a part of the London Games Festival on April 6, 2016. According to the eGames website, the eGames is a not-for-profit initiative aiming positively shape the fuure of competitive gaming. The eGames is a two-day showcase that will take place in British House, Parque Lage in Rio de Janeiro on August 15 and 16. The overall goal of the eGames is to promote competitive video gaming to a population of casual gamers and those who don’t play games.