The SXSW Gaming awards took place yesterday with Player Unknowns Battlegrounds (PUBG) being awarded the Esports Game of the Year title for 2017. With the other nominees being Call of Duty: WWII, Tekken 7, FIFA 2018 and F1 2017, the award was only considering competitive games that were released in 2017. This was likely the reason for why established esports, such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, DOTA 2, League of Legends or Overwatch, were not included as nominees. Still, the community was suprised that a game with an esports scene in its infancy beat out the likes of Call of Duty, Tekken and FIFA, as these titles all have well established professional scenes.
The Award for Esports Game of the Year goes to PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS! pic.twitter.com/nLKSBA2pqz
— SXSW Gaming (@SXSWGaming) March 18, 2018
PUBG has begun to make its way in establishing itself as an esports title with organizations like OpTic Gaming, Cloud9 and FaZe Clan building teams to compete in tournaments held by the likes of ESL and Starladder. However, it is still very far from being considered a top tier esport in the eyes of the community.
The announcement sparked responses from multiple esports industry professionals, such as journalist Rod Breslau who stated that award shows do not understand the esports landscape.
Video game award shows/events still don't know esports at all. PUBG is not esports ready let alone esport of the year. https://t.co/tIPEYPRwCG
— Rod Breslau (@Slasher) March 18, 2018
Fellow esports journalist Duncan "Thorin" Shields stated that perhaps SXSW should not be considered a part of the esports realm.
SXSW is not part of esports. Problem solved. pic.twitter.com/LPj5QJisiM
— Thorin (@Thooorin) March 18, 2018
Even though he has a strong fondness of the title, commentator and host Brice was adamant that PUBG should not have been in the running for the award.
I love PuBG and its one of my favourite games atm but you have to be kidding yourself if you think its "esports" game of the year. It isnt even close. https://t.co/0OR5PbUEAf
— Brice (@Bricetacular) March 18, 2018
PUBG is not close to being on the same level as the top games in the esports industry, but with a passionate and motivated fanbase, it would not be suprising to see the popular Battle Royale title make a stronger case for this award in the future.
The controversial winner also took home the awards for Trending Game of the Year and Excellence in Multiplayer, so it was clear that the folks at SXSW really do enjoy collecting those chicken dinners.
(cover photo courtesy of PUBG Corporation.)
