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Johnson, Mark R. and Woodcock, Jamie
(2021).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437211011555
Abstract
Professionalised competitive digital gaming or ‘esports’ has grown to a point where millions of dollars are being awarded in competitions watched globally by tens of millions of viewers. Previous analyses of the phenomenon have examined the role(s) of labour in esports performed by various actors – players, tournament organisers, sponsors, game developers – but these have yet to be unified into a ‘big picture’ of esports labour, especially when considering the relationships between the labour performed by different esports actors. In this paper we therefore present a comprehensive overview of the labour that different actors within the emerging Esports ecosystem perform, and how they intersect and influence each other in order to contribute to the existence of this highly contemporary phenomenon. In doing so we show that the rapid growth of Esports has created new labour processes and forms of work, transformed existing ones, yielded new career options, and tremendous profits to be made by a range of involved actors. Esports’ emerging position as a major global industry both within gaming and within contemporary media more broadly demands close attention to its work, its workers, and who is winning and losing in this dynamic media space.
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About
- Item ORO ID
- 76327
- Item Type
- Journal Item
- ISSN
- 0163-4437
- Project Funding Details
-
Funded Project Name Project ID Funding Body Digital Economy Crucible Research Priming Award 2C-MJ-Team EPSRC - Keywords
- esports; gaming; labour; play; precariousness; work
- Academic Unit or School
-
Faculty of Business and Law (FBL) > Business > Department for People and Organisations
Faculty of Business and Law (FBL) > Business
Faculty of Business and Law (FBL) - Copyright Holders
- © 2021 Mark R Johnson, © 2021 Jamie Woodcock
- Depositing User
- Jamie Woodcock