Daily Times

Pakistan, after enjoying a celebrated reign in sports exports, has now gained promising momentum in ESports being played online with intricate minds. Gone are the days where cricket and hockey attracted Pakistani youth, the recent trends show Pakistani youth attraction towards the ESports industry that is considered as new Hollywood due to the sponsorship and organisations involved in it, said a study published during Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.

The research journal focusing on market trends “Market Watch” narrated that following the footsteps of Europe and American markets, Pakistani youth is thrilled to add ESports culture to the Pakistani market. The Information Technology (IT) sector is fast growing in Pakistan with a contribution of 1 percent about 3.5 million USD to the GDP of the country. With the induction of the ESports ecosystem this net gross is expected to boost by a sizable margin, it said.

E-Games like Players Unknown Battlegrounds (PUBG), Free Fire, DOTA, Call of Duty (COD) and Valorant is the new craze among the Pakistan gaming community. With over 10 million active users PUBG has revolutionised the ESports culture in Pakistan followed by COD, Free Fire, and Valorant. The competitive ESports that have been introduced by these games have lured organisations and sponsors.

Dew gamers arena 2020 offered a prize pool worth Rs3.2 million to the participants, recently concluded PUBG Mobile Club Open (PMCO) Pakistan region had a prize pool of $29,200, PUBG Mobile National Championship (PMNC) held earlier in August had a prize pool of $30,000, Free Fire Pro League Pakistan (FFPL) held in July had a huge prize pool of Rs10 million. E-Sports sensations like Arslan Ash and Sumail Hassan are beacons of light for young Pakistani gamers pursuing their career in ESports. The latter is currently ranked 10th in the overall ranking of the world by earnings with total earnings of over $3 million. Arslan Ash has won Tekken-7 Ultimate Fighting League held in Kyiv, Ukraine which was the first ever participation of Pakistan in global events of Tekken-7.

Taha Talib, renowned Free Fire player about ESports depth in Pakistan, said, “The current market has improved a lot as compared to the past. The prize pools are much higher and moreover, the acceptance for ESports is growing day by day.”

When asked about future E-gaming in Pakistan, he responded that “The future offers great scope, the upcoming tournaments are a major attraction for young players. However, constant fear of restrictions is what worries me the most.” The ban culture in Pakistan has muddled the ESports growth in Pakistan. The most recent ban on PUBG in July last year hampered the ESports growth with investors and organizations doubtful about the ESports environment.

Addressing this ban culture, authorities must develop a working relationship with the gaming industry and collective efforts should be made to remit the negative aspects, he concluded.