COMMUNITY

GUEST OPINION: MAKING THE CASE FOR WAR ROBOTS AS AN ESPORT

BY DREAMSLAYER28 - 02/02/2018

This is a guest article by one of our players. Do not forget to check out the author's blog for more content!

With its burgeoning clans, a spectator-friendly UI, countless rivalries and an active community that boasts tens of thousands of members from all over the world, one would think that War Robots would have become a mobile electronic sport at this point.

In this one, we will not see why the War Robots is not an esport yet, but why should the War Robots think of being one - and how it could be done in the first place.

The Tale of the Tape

War Robots has been around for a long time. It's been well-loved by the players and people still play the game despite the challenged state that it is in right now.

In terms of balance of weapons, the game is actually 80% balanced in terms of the map pool if one looks at it objectively, with Yamantau being the least interactive map among them as proven by popular opinion and well-respected figures in the community.

The UI is not cluttered, and it's easy to integrate observation software into the game, as already shown by the many YouTube TV creatives and video content crew who pump out in-game videos.

In addition, the community is active and it is sufficient to say that there is a ton of players who make a ton of different content for the game every single day.

Time to find out who's the Actual Best

We all know their names: Empire of Korea, IllumiCorp, Aurora, Iron Order, etc.

Yet, we do not really know who is the best player in the world or the best fighting clan in the world right now. All we have is nothing but anecdotes and legends, which should not be the case for community size War Robots.

Many people are really curious who stands at the top. For sure, the top clans have some inkling of it already, but it would make up for great narratives and gameplay if the competition is actually structured and institutionalized.

People do not just want to know who the best X or Y is. They want to know their stories, they want to take part in their struggles, and most importantly, they want their sights to become real ... with their own hands, tears and sweat.

The best way to do this would be to introduce a formalized competition to the game - and yes, it will add a massive cultural, social and spectator value to the beloved title that we have right now.

But we want it to be a casual game!

War Robots right now is suitable for casual setup, so there's no need to change that fact anyways. Moreover, Pixonic can always do it the way other companies do it: Do separate tournament setups for teams who want to compete competitively, as well as provide the necessary infrastructure for it.

In addition, it will also be a good way to attract players and increase the existing player base unity. You do not just play anymore a normal game; you have teams, you have a scene and you can have a economic ecosystem that can go around it!

Do not want to see War Robots go to the next level - or in the case of the cynics out there, get a new lease on life?

What are the costs?

Let's be frank, there are no "easy" undertakings that turn out to be great.

They have certain risks, be it economically or in terms of executing the content right.

That's where responsible and accountable community members come in. The game could start by supporting various structures that are available right now, as well as giving a hand to those who actually have the ability to organize a tournament and run smoothly.

If Pixonic thinks that the enterprise is worth it, then they could certainly put it out in a massive scale - who knows, we might have a War Robots World Championship for real ... and we do not have to make it stay as fan fiction!

What's the endgame

It's time to turn the War Robots into just a top game or a business brand, but into something that will inspire people to play, compete and give everything they have.

It's high time to introduce the culture of mobile mech games into mainstream culture and make it part of the increasingly globalized zeitgeist that we have today.

And introducing the Esports aspects to War Robots would be a great way to s