Achieve your dream of becoming a pro gamer by picking up a controller and diving into a tournament to compete in top-tier esports titles like Call of Duty: Warzone, Fortnite, Street Fighter 6, and many other major cash-prize games.
If someone close to you ever dismissed your passion for gaming as a waste of time, they were likely either a) out of touch or b) missing the bigger picture. While that might seem a bit blunt, there’s truth to it. Esports, the competitive side of the video game world, has gained massive followings, huge prize pools, and sponsorships, allowing top players to turn their love for gaming into full-fledged careers. After a necessary pause during the pandemic, in-person esports events are back, drawing in large crowds once again.
What’s a Great Esports Game?
Esports encompass a wide variety of games, from well-known blockbusters to hidden gems, across countless genres. Are you into shooters? Test your skills against opponents in Call of Duty. Craving the excitement of an all-out battle royale? PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds delivers the action. Prefer sports? The NBA teamed up with Take-Two Interactive, the company behind the hugely popular NBA 2K series, to launch the NBA 2K eLeague, blending the best of both worlds. No matter your gaming preference, there’s an esports title and community for everyone.
Perhaps there’s almost too much choice. With the overwhelming number of competitive, multiplayer-focused games available, diving into playing or even just watching professional esports can feel daunting. Luckily, this guide to the top esports titles will help point you in the right direction. Not every game chasing the esports spotlight is worth your time—and there are plenty of those.
How We Picked Our Favorite Esports Games
This guide highlights several esports-worthy games that the Hellagoodmarketing team has reviewed and enthusiastically recommends. Many of these titles also make an appearance in our best esports games roundup, though we’ve included a few gems for console players as well.
To qualify for this list, a game must have official tournament backing from its publisher. While we have a deep appreciation for smaller, community-driven competitions like the impressive Tecmo Super Bowl scene, we had to draw a line somewhere to ensure only the most established competitive games made the cut.
And there you have it. If a major esports game isn’t mentioned below, it either hasn’t been reviewed yet or didn’t make the cut. What you’ll find here are some of the top esports titles, played by both amateurs and pros alike in 2024 — and likely for years to come. Dive in, and most importantly, enjoy the experience!
Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0
The first Warzone showed that Call of Duty could still dominate the battle royale scene, even with the market becoming more competitive. Now, Warzone 2.0 takes things up a notch, launching alongside Modern Warfare II and offering players a brand-new map (Building 21) and a tactical mode (DMZ) to explore.
Although the original Warzone continues to be available, giving its loyal player base a place to play, Warzone 2.0 is the cutting edge for serious competitors aiming to shine in the latest tournaments.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
This highly popular esports title was developed by Valve Corporation in partnership with Hidden Path Entertainment. As a first-person shooter and the fourth installment in the Counter-Strike series, it has become a staple in competitive gaming. Alongside the rise of CS2, a thriving industry of gambling sites has emerged, where players wager on in-game items like weapon skins or bet on match outcomes. Popular CS2 gambling sites such as CSGOEmpire, DuelBits, and Rollbit offer various betting options, adding a new dimension to the game.
The gameplay revolves around two teams: terrorists and counter-terrorists. The terrorists are tasked with taking hostages and planting a bomb, while the counter-terrorists must rescue the hostages and prevent the bomb from detonating.
Dota 2
The phrase “Easy to learn, hard to master” is often used, but few games live up to it like Defense of the Ancients 2 (Dota 2), one of the most renowned multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) titles in the world.
This free-to-play game allows players to pick from over 100 unique Heroes, each with their own set of skills, strategies, and strengths, all crucial to securing victory on the battlefield.
Although the MOBA genre can be daunting for newcomers, Dota 2’s legendary International tournament — with prize pools exceeding $30 million — brings fierce competition, making it an esport well worth watching if you’re ready to dive in and learn the game’s depths.
Fortnite
Fortnite remains the battle-royale game to beat. In early 2020, Epic Games revealed that a record-breaking 12.3 million players were online at once during an in-game Travis Scott concert, highlighting Fortnite’s massive appeal.
The game offers a lot to love: accessible gameplay modes, vibrant and quirky graphics, and a unique building system that sets it apart. While its combat mechanics and microtransactions leave room for improvement, Fortnite’s free-to-play nature makes it worth trying for any battle-royale enthusiast. Plus, it’s available on nearly every gaming platform.
The first-ever Fortnite World Cup in 2019 saw 16-year-old Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf walk away with $3 million from a $30 million prize pool, cementing the game’s place in esports history.
League of Legends
League of Legends, Riot Games’ free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), stands out as the premier title in its genre. Combining elements of role-playing, tower defense, and real-time strategy, it distinguishes itself from the flood of similar MOBAs on the market.
What makes League of Legends truly special is its accessibility, while still offering deeply complex gameplay. Skillshots, cooldowns, unique abilities, and equipment all work in harmony, creating a strategic depth that places League at the forefront of MOBA gaming, surpassing even heavyweights like Dota 2 and Heroes of the Storm.
On the esports stage, Riot Games backs League of Legends with the League of Legends Championship Series, featuring a prize pool exceeding $2 million, making it a global powerhouse in competitive gaming.
Overwatch 2
Shooters don’t always have to be grim or hyper-realistic—cartoony fun has its place, even in action-packed PC games. Valve’s Team Fortress 2 held that spot for nearly a decade, but now Blizzard has stepped in with Overwatch. Overwatch takes everything people loved about Team Fortress 2—vibrant maps, team-based modes focused on attack and defense, and a roster of unique characters—and enhances it with MOBA-like elements for a fresh experience.
With the arrival of Overwatch 2, the original game has been fully replaced, but fans can still enjoy its fast-paced, diverse gameplay thanks to its variety of heroes and classes. Overwatch has also built a thriving esports scene, backed by Blizzard’s support through initiatives like the Overwatch World Cup, cementing its place in the competitive gaming world.
PUBG
Shortly after its release, PUBG became an instant sensation, dominating charts across all platforms. It still holds the record for the most concurrent players on Steam. This surge in popularity quickly led to the formation of a massive esports community around the game, with many well-known teams jumping into the competitive PUBG scene. Some of the largest esports tournaments in history have been organized around it, including the PUBG Global Invitational, which boasted a $7,000,000 prize pool in 2021.
Although the game’s popularity waned for a time, its recent shift to a free-to-play model has sparked a resurgence, helping to grow its already substantial player base once again.
Rocket League
This one-of-a-kind arcade-style soccer game, developed by Psyonix, puts a thrilling twist on the sport by featuring cars as the players—hence the popular phrase, “soccer, but with cars.”
In Rocket League, teams of up to eight players compete to score goals, just like in traditional soccer. The fast-paced action and vehicular stunts make for an exciting, high-energy experience that’s unlike anything else in the gaming world.
