eSports (also known as electronic sports, esports, e-sports, competitive (video) gaming, professional (video) gaming, or pro-gaming) can be defined as a form of mind sports where the primary aspects of the sport are facilitated by video games; the input of players and teams as well as the output of the eSports system are mediated by human-computer interfaces.[1] Most commonly eSports take the form of organized multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players. The most common video game genres associated with eSports are real-time strategy, fighting, first-person shooter (FPS), and multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA). Tournaments such as The International, the League of Legends World Championship, the Battle.net World Championship Series, the Evolution Championship Series, and the Intel Extreme Masters, provide both live broadcasts of the competition, and prize money and salaries to competitors.

Although organized online and offline competitions have long been a part of video game culture, participation and spectatorship of such events have seen a large surge in popularity from the late 2000s and early 2010s. While competitions around 2000 were largely between amateurs, the proliferation of professional competitions and growing viewership now supports a significant number of professional players and teams,[2] and many video game developers now build features into their games designed to facilitate such competition.

The genre of fighting games and arcade game fighters have also been popular in amateur[citation needed] tournaments, although the fighting game community has often distanced themselves from the eSports label.[3] In 2012, the most popular titles featured in professional competition were the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games Dota 2, League of Legends, and the real time strategy game StarCraft II.[4] Shooting games like Counter Strike, Team Fortress 2, and Call of Duty have enjoyed some success as eSports, although their viewer numbers have remained below those of their competitors.