Should AAA companies be blamed for the ongoing death of esports?

There has been a long-standing grudge against Nintendo Super Smash Bros. sports community. Nintendo has not only refused to support the esports circuit but has also actively shut down streams and tournaments for various strong reasons.

The Smash community, especially Melee, hates Nintendo. But is it Nintendo’s absence from the Smash scene that has kept us thriving for decades?

In a recent interview with Thunderpick, Counter-Strike Co-Creator, Minh “Gooseman” Lepraised Valve for a decades-old shooter that has maintained its popularity throughout.

“If Counter-Strike was run by a AAA company like EA or Activision, there’s no way it would have lasted this long,” he said.

Gooseman explained that Valve was never in it for the money. Well, not completely. It has never tried to extract as much money as possible in a short period of time, he said. Instead, the ongoing development of Counter-Strike has been steady. The fact that the game hasn’t changed much in the past 25 years is now the reason why Gooseman believes it remains a successful esport title.

This makes sense. Think about other shooters and how their esports scenes are losing the hype and growing creatively. The biggest thing to watch out for is Call of Duty. Activision releases a new Call of Duty title every year, causing the esports scene to rush to learn new weapons, gameplay, and more. This annual cycle was damaging to the integrity of competition and cohesion, and Activision was more focused on making money from a new title than on the longevity of the game.

“You master those skills throughout your life, and you master the skills of using a controller and everything else, but not necessarily the rules of the game, because the rules of the game change every year or every season for that matter,” said former Call of Duty Multiplayer Creative Director Greg Reisdorf.

Think of all the successful games in esports: League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter-Strike, Super Smash Bros… What keeps these scenes alive for years? Consistency. These are games that change little, if at all. League of Legends is getting new champions, but the map and gameplay aren’t changing. Super Smash Bros. Melee hasn’t been updated since 2002.

Since these games have remained the same for so many years, professionals are forced to master the ins and outs in order to be above the rest of the competition. Tactics, strategies… In Counter-Strike, top players discover new moves to outsmart their opponents. They found new places to throw Molotovs. In Super Smash Bros, players get new technical equipment and frame-perfect mechanics.

This is what separates the experts from the laymen. This is what makes it fun to watch. With Call of Duty erasing progress every year, rivals, storylines, strategies, skills… It’s always out the window. The tension and passion are often lost.

Other AAA companies, like Riot, have better luck keeping titles alive than Activision. You know, League of Legends and all. But even Riot has missed the mark many times. 2XKO doesn’t have much staying power, especially when compared to a low-level scene like Super Smash Bros. Riot tried too hard to elevate it, to make it feel like a normal rather than a fighting game title. It doesn’t have that edge to it anymore.

The more brutal, real, and passionate a scene is, the better chance it has of surviving the sport. We get annoyed by high-end sponsorships, content creator shows, amazing broadcasts… Games that create completely unnatural expressions don’t have the staying power of games like Counter-Strike and Smash. You can probably think of many Counter-Strike stand-outs, tournaments, and storylines. Can you name one Call of Duty pro?

I wouldn’t say that AAA companies are entirely to blame for the downfall of esports. But it is the desire to make money, to be bigger than themselves, that will ultimately cause the downfall of sports.

The rest of the titles will be those that never needed glitz, glamor, and drama to begin with.