Current Issues of Sustainability in Esports

The study examines sustainability in esports across social, economic, and environmental dimensions, drawing on two workshops held in November 2019 (before COVID-19) with 64 participants from academia and industry. Through thematic analysis, the research identifies three critical themes: health and inclusiveness, an incomplete industry structure, and an immature business logic. Its central thesis is that esports' market-driven, publisher-centric model has produced fragmentation and governance gaps that must be addressed across all three sustainability dimensions, with social sustainability as the most pressing current concern.

On the social front, the findings highlight serious challenges in player health, including burnout and physical and mental strain, alongside pronounced underrepresentation: women make up only about 6% of competitive scenes, with similar gaps affecting BIPOC, older, disabled, and transgender or non-binary players. Player careers typically end around age 25, reflecting intense competition and unstable club employment. Governance is similarly underdeveloped, with inconsistent standards and eight competing international federations that lack broad legitimacy.

Economically, the esports market is small, roughly one five-hundredth the size of the traditional sports market, and heavily dependent on private investment. Most clubs and event organizers operate at a loss, relying on sponsorship, fundraising, and content creation. Professionalization only began in the mid-2010s, and the authors argue that formal training and education pathways are needed to support durable business logic. Environmental sustainability, by contrast, is largely unexamined and was not yet regarded as relevant by most participants, leaving its impacts a significant gap in the literature.