<description>The origins of competitive gaming are rooted in college campuses going back to the early 1970s. Now a globally popular industry, esports is at the center of many questions about long-term financial viability. &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Today, we dive deep into the hype surrounding esports and why the luster seems to be rubbing off the industry that was once seen by some as the next NBA.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Related episodes:&lt;br&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Forever games: the economics of the live service model (&lt;a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/forever-games-the-economics-of-the-live-service-model/id1320118593?i=1000653230081"&gt;Apple&lt;/a&gt; / &lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/4gE5nqoECdS8MSFwhYQXV0?si=9dcac74b8e3c4f0d"&gt;Spotify&lt;/a&gt;) &lt;br&gt;Designing for disability: how video games become more accessible (&lt;a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/designing-for-disability-how-video-games-become-more/id1320118593?i=1000653358507"&gt;Apple&lt;/a&gt; / &lt;a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/004olkw0OdnCFl1wiF4u6n?si=3402ab1d4c2e4b92"&gt;Spotify&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;em&gt;For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="http://plus.npr.org/"&gt;&lt;em&gt;plus.npr.org&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Music by &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://dropelectric.bandcamp.com/"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Drop Electric&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;. Find us: &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@planetmoney"&gt;&lt;em&gt;TikTok&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.instagram.com/planetmoney/"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Instagram&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/planetmoney"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Facebook&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.npr.org/newsletter/money"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Newsletter&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Learn more about sponsor message choices: &lt;a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices"&gt;podcastchoices.com/adchoices&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy"&gt;NPR Privacy Policy&lt;/a&gt;</description>

The Indicator from Planet Money

NPR

The boom and bust of esports

APR 24, 20249 MIN
The Indicator from Planet Money

The boom and bust of esports

APR 24, 20249 MIN

Description

The origins of competitive gaming are rooted in college campuses going back to the early 1970s. Now a globally popular industry, esports is at the center of many questions about long-term financial viability.

Today, we dive deep into the hype surrounding esports and why the luster seems to be rubbing off the industry that was once seen by some as the next NBA.

Related episodes:
Forever games: the economics of the live service model (Apple / Spotify)
Designing for disability: how video games become more accessible (Apple / Spotify)

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy