The esports industry is undergoing a seismic shift and artificial intelligence stands to play a pivotal role in its transformation. Companies are already exploring practical applications of AI and how it can not only streamline processes, but also improve player experiences and performance. As the industry continues to evolve, this emerging technology will be a critical force in shaping the future of esports.
In just two decades, esports has grown from a niche pastime to a $1.39 billion global market, influencing every corner of pop culture from movies to music to sports. Esports now includes an audience of over half a billion fans — 60% of whom are between the ages of 18 and 34.
AI has demonstrated an impressive understanding of video games that — in some cases — even rivals the capabilities of the world’s best players. GT Sophy, an AI bot for Gran Turismo, used machine learning to develop skills that surpassed 95% of players in just 1-2 days, and achieved “superhuman” status after 10 days. While esports AI models are often trained on simplified versions of games, their rich understanding of these titles is based on tens of thousands of hours of gameplay, unlocking insights humans have yet to see. Pro players have studied the behavior of AI bots like GT Sophy to learn which lines they need to take on the track and which strategies to employ to continually improve their game.
Just like traditional athletes, competitive gamers are using AI to study their opponents. For instance, the professional organization Evil Geniuses partnered with Hewlett Packard Enterprise to support its coaching staff with AI tools trained on archival footage and data of League of Legends gameplay. The goal was to arm coaches with predictive analytics to help navigate the pre-game character selection process, analyze player voice communications, and more. The results materialized during the team’s League Championship Series 2023 Spring Playoffs when the AI correctly predicted the majority of opponent’s pick priorities, meaning EG had been anticipating and preparing for the correct strategies.
This technology extends to amateur players looking to improve their gameplay. Esports data and analytics firm Omnic has an AI coaching platform, Omnic Forge, that has already seen AI-generated insights level up players’ skills. Fortnite players using the platform on average reduced damage by 32% and improved healing efficiency by 104%. Improving these core mechanics significantly impacts player performance, and may be the difference between winning and losing when it matters most.
AI has far more capabilities than improving competitors’ skills; it’s also helping to combat toxicity. Over 80% of multiplayer gamers have experienced harassment while playing video games, and developers have historically lacked the tools to moderate this behavior. To combat this, competitive gaming platform FACEIT developed Minerva in 2019, an AI solution that uses deep learning to track toxicity in real-time and police bad actors. Minerva has scaled to analyze 3 million matches a month – comprising 110 million messages and 200,000 hours of voice communications. The success of these tools have pushed AAA developers like Riot Games and Activision to invest more heavily in AI to improve safe player experiences.
What’s Next for AI in Esports
While the esports industry has made tremendous leaps in the adoption of AI, the technology still has a way to go in order to improve the value it has for top players. For example, future AI models may be trained on specific competitors’ gameplay, giving teams bots to practice against that could more accurately mimic their opponents. The technology also has another untapped potential in making esports content more digestible to fans, with opportunities to train AI broadcasters to more accurately capture in-game action for viewers tuning in at home.
While still in the early days of exploration, AI is proving to be an essential tool to usher in a new wave of professionalism, performance, and community. Applications across all levels of competition offers players and their teams a new level of support that not only continues to improve the quality of their gameplay, but brings a level of technology-enabled professionalism that rivals established industries, like traditional sports.
Jennifer Acree is the founder and CEO of JSA Strategies, where she works with select Fortune 500 and start-up clients to develop communications programs tailored based on clear business objectives to get results. Previously, Acree held senior corporate communications positions at Yahoo! Inc., where she served as vice president of corporate communications and was recognized by PR Week as one of the “40 Under 40” PR professionals to watch. She is a member of the USC Center for PR board of advisers.