Upcoming Games with an eSports Potential
New video games are released nonstop to satisfy the gamers’ insatiable appetite for things to play. But not all of them are created equal. There’s an entire category of games built not for those who play for their fun but to compete with each other. We might stumble upon these games at eSports betting sites pretty soon.
Stormgate (Frost Giant Studios)
Frost Giant Studios is an indie developer founded by former Blizzard developers Tim Morten and Tim Campbell in 2020. Their first title, Stormgate, will be a post-apocalyptic RTS (Morten was the production lead of Legacy of the Void).
In the game, players must gather resources and build armies to annihilate each other in glorious battle. The game will be free to play, with the content monetized in alternative ways. And it will be perfect for one-on-one matches. Stormgate entered a closed beta last December, with the final version planned for a summer 2024 release.
Zero Space (Starlance Studios)
Starlance Studios was founded a couple of years ago by Marvin Gouw, a former software engineer at Havok. Their first game, Zero Space promises an immersive cinematic RTS story reminiscent of Mass Effect. The game will feature massive battles in versus and cooperative mode. It should be released sometime this year.
2XKO (Riot Games)
Originally known by its code name “Project L”, 2XKO will be a 2v2 fighting game featuring League of Legends champions. Riot Games announced the game in 2021 and caused significant buzz. The game has recently got its final name and a tentative timeline for its release: it will enter the beta testing phase this year, with the final version probably hitting the shelves in 2025.
Rivals 2 (Aether Studios)
A sequel to Rivals of Aether, Rivals 2 will be a platform fighting game that gives the game an extra (half) dimension. According to its developers, it will have a 2.5D perspective and use 3D models. While it will have many single-player and casual-oriented features, the game will focus on competitive gameplay.
Rivals 2 is set to be released before the end of 2024 “on as many platforms as possible”.
XDefiant (Ubisoft)
Finally, let us mention XDefiant, Ubisoft’s upcoming FPS extravaganza. The game will be a free-to-play FPS available through Ubisoft Connect (on PC), and all major consoles. It will gather “factions” from successful Ubisoft games, such as The Division, Ghost Recon, and Splinter Cell. It won’t have a single-player story – it will focus on team-based multiplayer matches.
XDefiant is set to be released this year.
We already have countless games to play competitively and won’t run out of new material anytime soon. Expect to see some of these games emerge on the top eSports teams’ competitive roster before the end of the year.
