An interview with Amir Hajar Esports expert

Amir Hajar, co-founder of Mkers and Esports talent scout for professional clubs is a true expert in the world of Esports but more importantly, he is actively involved in the day by day.
We met at last year’s FIFA Interactive World Cup final at the O2 in London.

Interview

CDM: What is happening in the world of Esports, is it accelerating massively because of people being home?

Amir: The Esports sector has certainly not suffered the restraint that other sectors have forcibly received. But it hasn’t even had a boost in this time of quarantine, at least not all those assets of which it is composed.

All live events have been canceled, with millionaire losses from publishers and organizers. The calendaring of tournaments have been canceled too, confirming from now on the halt of any competitive activity up to a date TBDBut this did not stop the sector.

The audience of streaming content has increased considerably and here is the flourishing of online activities with influencers and professional players with a dense weekly schedule.
The channels have undergone an increase ranging from 40 to 60% of viewers without currently affecting the world of microtransactions both in streaming (donation and subscribers) and with the in-game contents.

There are many companies that are jumping on Esports right now, but you have to be very careful about the type of message you want to give.

Esports is not an activity to do because we are stuck at home, it is a competitive sector alive, which grows with enthusiasts day after day. That’s why with Mkers we are attentive to the content we are producing and the activities that involve our players.

We are completing the tournament Besport, organized by us for the Serie B and other formats such as the one just launched off the Fight eClub, a sort of Mkers vs the Serie A Club with the task of beating each club with our spearhead.

CDM: What about sports Esports? I know they are not top of the list, do you expect them to grow now as a replacement to live sport?

Amir: Sports simulators, except FIFA, are hardly titles that we would call Triple A in terms of sales. But certainly some of these are, in terms of content and communication, valuable to a target that does not use and probably will not use conventional channels.

I don’t see Esports as a substitute for sport or at least I don’t think it can be seen in the right light by the users of traditional sport, from the fan of a football team to the enthusiast of a racing team.

The approach to traditional sport, the increase in the level of players, organizers as well as live events is slowly leading to a recognition of the professional path and the figure of the Esports athlete.

But using and forcing the hand at this moment may not increase the player professional figure, rather enclose it once again in the pastime to do when there is really nothing else to do.

A return to bring the spotlight on the image of the closed gamer in the house with the windows closed while the sun is shining high in the sky.

Mkers is working hard on this preconception, our athletes are professionals who train in everything. Physical, mind, and gameplay. Every day of the week they are followed by coaches and aim for excellence. Showing them now and then abandoning them to the resumption of the football championships would be a big mistake.

But it is true that video games and especially the competitive sector are an incredible source of captivating content that is easy to manage and that can connect people from all over the globe.

The only thing we can be sure of is that at the end of this standstill, the competitive world will be better known than ever and who knows will have brought more public from sport to Esports than the other way around.

CDM: Which sports game can grow in this Sport Hiatus?

Amir: In this moment that I would define as transition, there are many titles that could come out with exponential growth. The greatest benefits will derive from all those titles that have an excellent transposition on mobile, Fifa but even more, PES has created noteworthy gaming apps.

The racing titles will register an increase in the hours of play certainly but I don’t think in terms of sales. It is a time when important expenses, such as the purchase of a gaming PC or a professional set of steering wheels and pedal are not easy to do. We will see an increase in content and communication certainly.

This is an industry that has not stopped, rather it is proliferating in terms of views and new content. New titles and new digital activations have been announced on almost all sports games related to the world of football, motors, and the NBA.

In net delay all the other sports that are not absent in the landscape, even if with titles not quite up to the standards of today’s gamers.
The titles that will have the greatest growth in this period will be the titles with a well-structured publisher behind them.
Companies with an excellent communication channel with their fan base and influencers on the Youtube, Twitch, Instagram and Tik Tok platforms will be the masters.

FIFA20 thanks to the number of innovations that exist within the game that lead fans to follow the news and advice on the official channels of the game and on the entire supply chain created by the influencers and pro-players of the title, will keep the reins of this moment of apparent calm.