Opinion: Esports journalism needs your support

Today is my last day being an esports journalist after almost four years. It's an incredibly fun and rewarding job. After all, who doesn't want to write about games and culture that they truly enjoy and love playing and engaging with?

However, the job is by no means easy. It is a slog, with lots of personal sacrifices and challenges that can feel out of your control. The team at esports.gg, and no doubt other sites too, work crazy hours to cover events all over the world and produce content. They grind for hours to be one step ahead, producing guides and walkthroughs for brand new games.

Over the four years I've worked at esports.gg, I have seen the landscape shift dramatically. New innovations present challenges for journalism, like AI overviews and constant changes to the Google algorithm. Several sites have shut down or downscaled their operations as opportunities to get views are reduced.

However, the demand for content from users has not decreased. That helpful AI overview only exists because it feeds on well written, reliable information from sites like ours. Remember this, next time you use it.

This links directly into esports coverage, which is by far the most popular and unique content sites like our make. Most esports leagues have lengthy off-seasons, and writers have to cover other content to pay the bills and keep the lights on. As "SEO" content gets pushed down to make way for AI answers, this directly impacts sites ability to cover esports events and tournaments.

I have read and seen some truly excellent coverage in esports, and I have seen so many talented people lose their job due to factors out of their control. Of course, sites need to modernise and adapt to how people consume their news and information. But, it is not appreciated enough how much of an uphill battle it has been over the last couple of years. Writing about games and esports seems easy on the outside, but having done it for four years - it is anything but. Being on top things, 365 days a year, 24hrs a day is not easy. Covering huge swathes of information around updates. Being subject matter experts on huge esports scenes. I am lucky to have worked with hugely talented people who do not get the recognition they deserve.

So, esports journalism needs you more than ever. Click on those articles, leave supportive comments on social media. Share a helpful guide to your friends. Be kind to writers and sites, and remember that they are doing what they need to do to keep the lights on and keep people in a job.

Thank you,

Tom (esports.gg 2021-2025)