The Gaming and eSports industry has been recognised as one of the most popular among other industries in India. However, around 2.5 billion gamers are said to exist across the world. Based on reports, they have spent around $152.1 billion on games in 2019. But the journey so far wasn’t very smooth, it had to go through lots of hurdles. But their strong determination and hard work led them toward achieving their goals and taking the eSports industry to a better position.
Below are a few of the issues, mostly faced by gamers and the eSports industry:
- Law of loot boxes- Regulators and Legislators have been able to improve the scrutiny of loot boxes in video games as well as apps. But countries Belgium and the Netherlands banned loot boxes in previous years.
- Clones- As witnessed, Copyright has always been there in software code and graphics, and numerous attempts have been made to protect the underlying ideas, concepts, or formats, but those efforts weren’t able to provide desired results. However, computer software can be protected by using patents in Europe if that can make a technical contribution.
- Children- Games played by children have always been in the regulatory spotlight. Surrounding this fact, there have been numerous reports about minors spending large amounts of money on in-game purchases. However, the Competition and Markets Authority, the Advertising Standards Authority, and the Gambling Commission are said to take initiatives to examine the practices surrounding apps targeted at children, provoking a flurry of self-regulation in the industry in the UK.
- Competition- In the year 2019, the European Commission charged Valve and five video game publishers with breaching competition law by implementing “geo-blocking” restrictions on video games. It thus deterred customers from purchasing video games cross-border from other Member States. Also, the Commission is said to claim that Valve and the five-game publishers agreed to deter customers from purchasing and activating in their home territory PC.
- Professional gamers- As eSports prize pools have been growing throughout the years, so do the professional training and regimented scheduling required by competitive eSports players, which is often overseen and managed by their eSports team. Therefore, eSports teams are required to be aware of if their players can be considered employees or contractors, given the circumstances of their relationship, and the kinds of duties they owe their players in terms of physical as well as mental well-being.
Summing up, these are the leading issues that are faced by gamers as well as the esports industry. It is also expected that Governments across the globe will pass proper laws in favour of the industry. Above all, the industry is expected to reach new heights in the coming years. And, with hardware becoming more affordable there can be an increase in the number of individuals making careers in the eSports industry.
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