How The UK's West Midlands Is Putting Esports Front And Centre

thegamer.com:

The esports industry has gone from strength to strength in recent years, moving from being highly ridiculed to being widely loved. The growth of esports, and how quickly attitudes have changed, have led to tournaments for games such as League of Legends and Dota 2 going from peripheral events at the edge of the industry’s consciousness to major news stories where players compete for millions in stadiums filled with thousands of adoring fans.

With the industry continuing to make strides Great Britain is taking note, in particular the West Midlands. Already contributing a quarter to the country’s £7.16bn video games market in 2022, setting their sights on the esports market is a natural step for regional authorities looking to revitalise the West Midlands economy.

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It’s for this reason that the region, represented by the West Midlands Growth Company, has signed a new landmark ten year deal this month with the Global Esports Federation to make the former industrial region the epicentre for esports in the UK.

The deal serves as the latest of many moves the region has made in an effort to lay the foundations for the area. In 2022, it was announced that this year’s Commonwealth Games, held in Birmingham, will be the first in the games’ history to include an esports Commonwealth Tournament. Furthermore, in 2020 Coventry University announced a strategic partnership with the Asian Electronic Sports Federation to further invest in esports.

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street is a huge supporter of this initiative. In a statement on the West Midlands Combined Authority website, Street stated that he was “thrilled when we confirmed that the