With video games progressively moving online and embracing the ‘gaming as a service’ moniker, the competitive gaming field continues to thrive. What was once a niche within the fandom is now growing with each passing year as more and more games embrace the competitive online scene.
Not only is gaming seeing a huge increase in attention, but those looking for a social casino are also finding more options. With 2025 already underway it’s time to take a look at the top 5 eSports games of the year.
Counter-Strike (CS:GO)
It would be frankly impossible to talk about eSports without bringing up this behemoth. Counter-Strike, more commonly referred to as CS:GO, is one of the original massive eSports games and continues to go strong to this day despite the release of Counter-Strike 2.
CS:GO has the most competitive field with there being over 7,000 active eSports teams competing for some of the biggest prize pots in the entire eSports scene.
While it may not pull in the viewership of some of its cohorts, the game is simply too big to fail in the eSports sphere. With so many teams and so much money involved in just this game it’s hard to see it ever falling from grace. It is sure to remain one of the top eSports titles for the foreseeable future.
League of Legends
An MMO is the perfect setting for some competitive gaming and League of Legends has proven to be one of the most popular in all of gaming. At its peak it pulls in more viewers for competitions than any other game, absolutely steaming ahead of even CS:GO despite having a smaller scene.
LoL has smaller prize pots on offer and has less teams, although still boasts around 4,000 in total, but has proven to be a hit with viewers and continues to be one of the most watched competitive games in all of eSports.
Valorant
Another mainstay of the scene but one that remains as popular as ever. Valorant is right up there with CS:GO as one of the most recognisable titles in the competitive gaming sphere. Valorant trails behind both previous entries for competitive team numbers but makes up for that with some handsome prize money amounts and a strong viewer base.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
We take a foray into mobile gaming this time for an interesting entry to this list. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is one of the top 5 esports titles of the year DESPITE briefly being banned due to it being owned by the same company as TikTok. But, that isn’t why it is on here.
The mobile gaming market is huge and it only takes the right sort of foundations to develop a competitive gaming scene around something so easily accessible. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is in the beginning stages of that.
Despite not having much in the way of prize money yet, and fewer competitions available to compete in than the CS:GO’s or Valorant’s of the world, it has become one of the most popular eSports titles of the year. At its peak it brought in over a million viewers and raced ahead of Honor of Kings to be the biggest mobile eSports game of the year.
Apex Legends
An interesting addition to the list, Apex Legends is from famous game developer EA and isn’t the most active game. What makes it stand out is that when Apex Legends tournaments DO happen, they’re a big deal.
Despite only running a handful of tournaments this year, Apex Legends has offered out millions in prize money and garnered a healthy viewership of hundreds of thousands of people.
It is a game that could fall away at any point this year with Fortnite, Rocket League, and others primed and ready to make a run and become one of the biggest eSports titles in the world but for now, Apex Legends remains one of the most important, and most well-funded titles in the competitive gaming sphere.
Main Image: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
