The Principles of Esports Engagement: a Universal Code of Conduct
| Publication year | 2020 |
The Principles of Esports Engagement: A Universal Code of Conduct
Yen-Shyang Tseng
Horvitz & Levy LLP
The Principles of Esports Engagement: A Universal Code of Conduct
Cover Page Footnote
Appellate attorney at Horvitz & Levy LLP in Burbank, California. Given how quickly esports evolves, new statistics and information might be available by the time of publication. Thanks to Dan Nabel, to the editors of the Journal of Intellectual Property Law, and to all friends of Purple Poring.
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THE PRINCIPLES OF ESPORTS ENGAGEMENT: A UNIVERSAL CODE OF CONDUCT?
Yen-Shyang Tseng*
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I. Introduction............................................................................................211
II. Background..............................................................................................211
A. THE GROWTH OF ESPORTS.................................................................................211
B. ESPORTS AND THE ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE ASSOCIATION.............................................................................................................215
III. The Principles of Esports Engagement........................................219
IV. Analysis of the Principles of Esports Engagement................220
A. PRINCIPLES 1, 3, AND 4: SAFETY AND WELL-BEING, RESPECT AND DIVERSITY, AND POSITIVE AND ENRICHING GAME PLAY.......................................................................................220
1. Toxicity in video game communities..........................................220B. PRINCIPLE 2: INTEGRITY AND FAIR PLAY...................................................236
2. Toxicity in professional esports communities...........................224
3. Swatting...........................................................................................234
1. Distributed denial of service attacks...........................................236
2. Cheating..........................................................................................240
V. Conclusion................................................................................................247
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In November 2019, global representatives of the video game industry announced four "universal esports principles for fun and fair play."1 As the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) explained, "These core principles were developed in a collaborative effort and form a set of values applicable in all aspects of the global esports environments: safety and well-being, integrity and fair play, respect and diversity, and positive and enriching game play."2
Historically, each video game company or esports league (such as Blizzard Entertainment and the Overwatch League, Riot Games and the League of Legends Championship Series, and Epic Games) has upheld these principles in their own esports. These actors have combated toxic behavior, cheating, and misconduct through disciplinary measures and even legal action. But when so many game companies across the world come together and speak with one voice to develop a set of unifying principles, the result could lead to something more — a universal code of conduct governing all esports. A code of conduct could only improve esports and further legitimize the industry.
Section I of this article provides a brief background of esports and the ESA. Section II states the four principles of esports engagement announced by the ESA. Section III applies these four principles by reviewing specific problems that have plagued the video game and esports industries, such as toxicity (especially towards women and other minorities), swatting, cheating, and other malicious behavior. This article concludes by discussing implementation of a universal code of conduct in esports based on the principles of esports engagement.
A. THE GROWTH OF ESPORTS
Esports, which "entails 'professional video game matches where players compete against other players before an audience,'"3 is a billion-dollar industry
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experiencing incredible growth. According to Newzoo, esports will generate $1.1 billion in revenue in 2019, a 26.7% increase from the previous year.4 Of that $1.1 billion, the largest revenue stream is sponsorship, generating $456.7 million a year, while the fastest-growing is media rights.5 Recent deals demonstrate the value of media rights in esports. In January 2018, Twitch entered into a two-year deal with Activision Blizzard, reportedly worth more than $90 million, for exclusive third-party rights to stream Overwatch League matches in English, Korean, and French.6 When that expired, Activision Blizzard entered into a strategic partnership with Google, which included a three-year deal valued at more than $160 million for YouTube to have exclusive streaming rights for Overwatch, Call of Duty, and Hearthstone esports.7 And in December 2019, Bilibili paid Riot Games over $113 million to exclusively broadcast the next three League of Legends World Championships in China.8
Newzoo estimates the esports market will reach anywhere from $1.8 billion to $3.2 billion by 2022.9 The explosive viewership numbers also speak to the industry's growth. The global esports audience is estimated to be 453.8 million as of 2019, with 201.2 million "Esports Enthusiasts" and 252.6 million "Occasional Viewers."10
The value of esports teams is also catching up with that customary in traditional sports. In 2019, Forbes estimated that two esports teams, Cloud9 and
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Team SoloMid, were worth $400 million each — up from $310 million and $250 million the year before.11 By comparison, NHL teams are worth anywhere from $300 million to $1.65 billion; MLB teams are worth $1 billion to $4.6 billion; NBA teams are worth $1.3 billion to $4.6 billion; and NFL teams are worth $1.9 billion to $5.5 billion.12
The 2019 Fortnite World Cup and the 2019 League of Legends World Championship provide two recent examples of esports growth. Epic Games hosted the Fortnite World Cup in July 2019, which provided a $30 million prize pool.13 The event took place at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.14 Tickets to the event sold out, and an estimated 2.3 million concurrent viewers watched the finals on Twitch and YouTube.15
Just a few months later, Riot Games hosted the League of Legends World Championship at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris. The event brought in more than 100 million viewers, including a peak of 44 million concurrent viewers and a record-breaking 21.8 million Average Minute Audience.16 By comparison,
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Super Bowl LIII had 98.2 million television viewers and an Average Minute Audience of 2.6 million streaming viewers.17
Besides Fortnite and League of Legends, viewership statistics show that other major esports such as Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Overwatch are growing as well, with major events in 2019 generating greater viewership than in the previous year.18 The number of tournaments held, players participating, and prize money awarded shows continued interest in the entire esports scene.19 As the ESA recognized when it announced the principles of esports engagement, the industry expects continued growth.20
The growth of esports can be tied to the broader growth of video games, which now rival, or have even overtaken, other major forms of entertainment.21 In 2018, video game sales alone exceeded $43.4 billion, more than the film industry's $41.7 billion global box office sales from that year.22 One estimate claims
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the video game industry generated $134.9 billion revenue in 2018 and $152.1 billion in 2019, and it is estimated to generate more than $180.1 billion in 2021.23 Another estimate puts the digital games market at $117 billion in 2018 and projects that it will rise to $132 billion in 2021 and $160 billion in 2022.24
Colleges and high schools now have esports programs,25 and even legal scholars have taken note of the industry. A cursory Westlaw search reveals only a few articles about esports published between 2012 and 2015, but more than fifty from 2016 through the end of 2019.26 Practitioners have formed the Esports Bar Association, which, among other things, has launched an academic journal and organized conferences focusing on current issues in the industry.27
B. ESPORTS AND THE ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE ASSOCIATION
Each esport involves a video game developed and owned by a company.28 For example, Activision Blizzard (through its subsidiaries) owns Overwatch and Hearthstone, as well as the Call of Duty, Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo
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franchises.29 Riot Games owns League of Legends.30 Epic Games owns Fortnite.31 Wizards of the Coast owns Magic: the Gathering Arena.32 Ubisoft owns Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege.33 Electronic Arts Inc. owns Apex Legends and the FIFA games.34 Take-Two Interactive owns NBA 2K.35 Valve owns Dota 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.36 And so on and so forth.
Video game companies generally control the rights over their own games and corresponding esports, including intellectual property rights, and might use these rights to control the esports ecosystem for their games.37 For example, Epic Games has a set of "Event License Terms" for third parties who want to host their own Fortnite tournaments.38 Riot Games has a set of "Tournament Rules" for third parties who wish to organize League of Legends tournaments.39 And Blizzard offers "Community" and "Custom" licenses for organizers looking to host Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch, StarCraft and StarCraft II, Warcraft III, or World of Warcraft tournaments.40
Each company's ownership of their games also allows them to establish codes of conduct and terms of service.41 Many of these games require user accounts to
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enable play, giving these companies control over a player's access not only to esports competitions but also to the game itself.42 For example, Blizzard requires players of its games to agree to its End User...
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