Introduction

Abstract

A decade ago, it was still somewhat conventional to start a study by writing how “esports is a novel phenomenon.” As we write this introduction in 2021, that is no longer true. Today, more than a thousand studies have been published on esports, including several books and special issues. Moreover, the work is no longer conducted purely in the “game studies” related fields, but across numerous domains from medical and health sciences to economics and sports. Esports is no longer a novel phenomenon, not even for researchers. As both the industry and academia of esports progress—with hundreds of digital (and some analog) game titles being played as “esports”—it is more and more difficult to address “esports” in general. As the need for more specific case studies keeps increasing, this book on Overwatch responds to that need.