Last year and this year, there were many incidents that threatened the foundation of the e-sports ecosystem around the world. Nuclear and DDoS issues have invaded the e-sports realm, and large-scale match-fixing related to illegal gambling has been uncovered. Of course, there have also been developments that could be beneficial to the future of e-sports, such as the expansion of the mobile game market and investment in Saudi Arabia. Game Mecca looked into what incidents and positive impacts there were in the recent eventful e-sports field.
DDoS and hacks, e-sports leading to decline in trust
DDoS and hacks, which have been a problem in online games for a long time, began to have a direct impact on e-sports from the end of 2023. So far, hacks and DDoS have not had a significant impact on esports leagues in general. This is thanks to the fact that the game is held under strict security conditions, including a location directly selected by the game company and a developed server environment.
However, starting this year, things were a little different. First, a DDoS-related incident hit the Korean server in the world’s most popular online game ‘League of Legends (hereinafter referred to as LoL)’. Since the end of 2023, famous LoL pro gamers and internet broadcasters have been subjected to continuous DDoS cyber terrorism with unknown causes. Of course, the prevailing public opinion at the time was that DDoS attacks would not be possible in the tournament, and in fact, no problems occurred immediately after the opening of the LoL Champions Korea (LCK) spring.
However, starting with the game being suspended eight times during the DRX and Daplus Kia games in February, the LCK competition server continued to suffer DDoS attacks. Afterwards, the LCK operations office temporarily mobilized various methods, such as conducting the game through privately recorded broadcasts, and was eventually able to escape the DDoS threat by introducing offline servers starting from the game on March 13.
Nuclear weapons also became a big problem. There have been instances where professional athletes use unauthorized programs to achieve better results in competitions. However, the situation was different in the North American finals of the ‘APEX LEGEND’ global series last March. For the two players participating in the game, a hacker forced them to see the enemy’s location or installed a hack that automatically directed the aim to the enemy’s head. After receiving this report, the organizers hastily stopped the game and temporarily postponed the competition, an unprecedented situation occurred.
In both cases, the biggest problem was fundamentally hackers and DDoS attackers, but the complacent attitude of the game company hosting the competition also became a target of criticism. Although Riot Games and Riot Korea, which hosts the LCK, showed signs of a DDoS attack starting at the end of 2023, they lacked prior preparations and responded poorly after the DDoS attack occurred. The same goes for EA and Respawn Entertainment, which host the Apex Legends competition. Apex Legends has suffered from numerous hacks and hackers for a long time. Of course, the developer did not ignore this, but in the end, the hacker’s intrusion into the professional game was broadcast live around the world.
Incidents like the above are also connected to the fundamental risks of the e-sports ecosystem. Regardless of the scale or soundness, if an external attack occurs in the game that the operator cannot respond to, not only will it be impossible to respond, but the very existence of the league may be shaken. In particular, if companies representing the industry, such as Riot Games and EA, continue to reveal their vulnerability to external attacks and show inexperience in responding to them, this ultimately raises a problem with the overall reliability of e-sports.
The continued occurrence of match-fixing, which greatly harms the foundation of sports.
In addition, a serious issue related to match-fixing has recently occurred. Players suspected of being involved in match-fixing were caught from all eight teams participating in VCS, the Vietnamese LoL league. Last March, VCS announced a list of 32 players and officials suspected of being involved in match-fixing through its official SNS and temporarily suspended their participation in games. Since 32 people are more than half of the VCS league players, it is the largest match-fixing incident in history.
Problems related to match-fixing occurred not only in the Vietnamese league but also in the Chinese league. Nine players were involved in match-fixing in China’s second division league, LDL, and in the process, professional team SDX was disqualified from participating. Match fixing is a problem that greatly reduces trust in sports. Currently, the impact is less severe as LoL eSports is still enjoying the highest popularity in the world, but if it happens again in the future when its popularity has waned, the fallout will be enormous. Korea experienced this in the past when the ‘StarCraft 1’ league was destroyed.
Cases of match-fixing have been continuously uncovered since last year not only in LoL but also in various e-sports leagues such as ‘Mobile Legends’, ‘Counter-Strike 2’, and ‘Dota 2’. As the size of the e-sports market has increased significantly, the size of the illegal and private gambling underground economy has also increased in return. As the e-sports ecosystem is only now growing in scale and various laws have begun to be introduced, vigilance and surveillance against match-fixing are continuously necessary.
eSports expanding globally
Of course, not only negative incidents continued like this. As PC and mobile penetration rates increase globally, interest in e-sports, which was previously limited to some countries, is spreading globally. For example, the popularity of LoL esports has recently been increasing in Latin America and Brazil. What is more encouraging is that not only the e-sports leagues that have previously been in the spotlight, such as LoL and Counter-Strike 2, but also the mobile e-sports field is gradually expanding.
In particular, as the spread of smartphones increased globally, e-sports players from Mongolia, Southeast Asia, and India began to become active. For example, in the case of ‘Battleground Mobile’ e-sports operated by Krafton, the Mongolian professional team IHC e-sports won the top international competition. In addition, as the popularity of PUBG Mobile India increased in India, interest in e-sports also grew.
It is encouraging that the number of countries interested in e-sports is expanding. In particular, the status of e-sports has improved compared to the past to the extent that it was adopted as an official event at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. Expanding the base of mobile e-sports will serve as a foundation for e-sports to become a global sport in the future.
Can the chronic operating cost problem be solved?
Esports operating costs are continuously increasing, especially for LoL, which is very popular. According to the ‘2023 e-Sports Status Survey’ published by the Korea Creative Content Agency, the size of the domestic e-sports industry in 2022 is approximately KRW 151.4 billion, an increase of 44.5% from the previous year, but e-sports-related revenue is KRW 19.9 billion, a decrease of approximately 40% compared to the previous year. did. It was even reported that none of the clubs in the LoL domestic professional league, the largest e-sports sport in Korea, recorded a profit. Not only domestic but also overseas e-sports teams are suffering from revenue issues.
In this situation, the prospect that Saudi Arabia will significantly increase e-sports-related investment became known and attracted attention. Currently, an e-sports focus district is being built in Qiddiya City, a city specializing in entertainment, and will also host the international e-sports World Cup. In particular, the total prize money for the Saudi eSports World Cup league is $60 million (approximately KRW 82.2 billion), which is the largest ever. The games are also diverse, with a total of 19 types, including LoL, Battlegrounds, Apex Legends, Tekken 8, and Overwatch 2. Attention is focused on whether Saudi Arabia’s abundant oil money can guarantee the profitability of the e-sports industry and increase the health of the industry.
Meanwhile, in Korea, there was a prediction last year that e-sports could be incorporated into Sports Toto. The discussion began with a pledge for the 2022 presidential election, and there is a party that made a pledge to revitalize Sports Toto in the 2024 general election. If e-Sports Toto is implemented, it is expected to greatly help improve domestic e-sports profits, but related matters are reportedly still in the discussion stage.
