The first eSports game
The first game to really be considered part of esports history is StarCraft (1998), developed by Blizzard Entertainment. While there were earlier games that had competitive elements, like Pong (1972) and Space Invaders (1978), these were more about casual arcade competitions rather than the structured, professional esports scene we see today. StarCraft helped establish esports as a serious and organized activity, particularly in South Korea. It became a cultural phenomenon and laid the foundation for the esports industry. In South Korea, StarCraft became so popular that it led to the creation of professional gaming leagues, televised tournaments, and a generation of gamers who aspired to be professional players. These early esports tournaments were groundbreaking, as they were the first to have sponsorships, live broadcasting, and a growing viewership both on television and online. This level of organization and media attention was unprecedented for video games at the time.
The Rise of Competitive Tournaments
While StarCraft (1998) is often credited as one of the first major games to help launch esports, competitive gaming had existed in various forms prior to that. One of the earliest examples was the 1972 Stanford University “Spacewar” tournament. Players competed in the game Spacewar, which was one of the first video games to include a competitive element. However, these early tournaments were relatively small, unorganized, and mostly limited to the university setting.
