Johnston credited the COVID-19 pandemic with some of the increased interest in video games and esports, and he anticipates increased popularity in future years.
“COVID definitely helped a lot with that; a lot of people were home and finding things to do, and got into video games,” Johnston said. “Then they started playing it with their friends, and people started realizing they could make it into a career.”
Hinds mentioned the growth he’s seen in the esports community in Nebraska recently, and said esports is rapidly growing as an industry, and not just in high school competition. Hinds runs the esports team at Concordia, and scouts for new players and offers scholarships just like traditional sports.
“Video gaming, esports, is getting bigger on the national level, it’s getting bigger collegiately, so those opportunities are starting to come up,” Hinds said. “Schools are starting to support (esports) because it does hit a dynamic of students that traditional sports don’t usually hit.”
Herbel said that colleges like Concordia getting into esports and starting to offer scholarships is validation for the kids who spend so much time practicing.
Beyond college, the video game industry is growing in general, Hinds said. The stereotypes about what it means to be a gamer are disappearing as video games become more mainstream, creating more and more jobs.
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