The most lucrative games in eSports

Epic Games, the maker of the popular cross-platform multiplayer game Fortnite, announced on Monday that it will provide $100 million in prize money for Fortnite competitions in the competitive game's first season, set to begin later this year. With this unprecedented prize pool, Fortnite will instantly become one of the most lucrative eSports games. Only one game has ever received more prize money during its existence as a competitive game. As the following chart illustrates, Dota 2, a game that has been around for years, has won a total of 141 million dollars in prize money, edging out runner-up Counter-Strike: Global Offensive by a large margin. In recent years, eSports events have become bigger and bigger. In the prize money is awarded at the largest tournamentsthat can compete with those of the biggest sporting events in the "real world". The reason for this trend is quite simple: since Millions of video game fans watcheSports events attract advertising dollars and sponsorship deals just like other sporting events. And just like in professional sport, an increase in sponsorship and TV/advertising money is reflected in the potential income of the players/athletes. You can find more infographics at Statista