COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State University plans to begin offering a degree in esports next fall, for those interested in the video game industry.
- The new arena sits on the second floor of OSU’s Lincoln Tower
- The arena has 80 computer gaming stations, four consoles, virtual reality headsets and a broadcast booth
- The major will roll out next fall with three tracks—esports and game creation, esports management and another for use in the medical field
Ohio State senior and Anthropology major Christopher Robinson, is doing more than just killing time. He’s using knowledge he learned in his studies to apply to the virtual world of esports.
“You need to understand people to understand business, so I sort of take that aspect of it to apply to esports and everything else so,” said Robinson. “Right now, I'm dealing with a lot of the social media, listening what people are wanting, what people are saying, and try to make conclusions and stuff based on that.”
But it’s not all work and no play for Robinson, who says he gets the same adrenaline rush he used to get from playing traditional sports.
“Played baseball, lacrosse, rec basketball, so I've always done multiple things, so it's nice to apply it in a different way of using my brain and my mental rather than my body,” said Robinson. “It's actually great to see how much this has come around and everything.”
80 computer gaming stations, four consoles, virtual reality headsets and a broadcast booth are available in the new arena, which is sits on the second floor of Lincoln Tower.
Brandon Smith is the director of esports in the Office of Student Life.
He says esports is a large entertainment industry that's virtually untapped in central Ohio.
“They want to wear the jersey, they want coaching, they want to compete at the highest level with some of the schools that are big in this,” said Smith. “But we've also had an extremely large interest in students who actually want to create games, who want to study the industry of esports, who want to do the broadcast production, they want to do the social media and event management.”
Right now, there are 38 students enrolled in “Introduction to Esports & Game Studies,” which has classes every Tuesday and Thursday at Ohio State.
The major is expected to roll out next fall with three tracks —esports and game creation, esports management and another for use in the medical field.
“They want to be coaches, they want leadership opportunities, they want to compete and be good gamers, but they're going to go onto different careers, not necessarily being great gamers,” said Smith. “So, the combination of the academic curriculum, and the research teams that are working along with this experience are going to give students a chance to launch into being broadcasters, and to be media production people, as well as a lot of other industries in research and data analytics.”
So, it may be just a video game to some, but a lucrative industry, nonetheless.
The global gaming industry is estimated to be worth $150 billion dollars and could double by 2025.
Robinson says he looks forward to what the future of esports may bring for him-- as well as Ohio State students looking to earn a degree in the coming years.
“I really didn't know what I wanted to do, but I was like, esports a growing industry, there's going to be plenty of jobs you know,” said Robinson. “Do whatever you need to do, just come get involved, that's the first step—is getting yourself in the door, and you'll figure out everything else once you get there.”
Next month, Ohio State will hold tryouts for its first official varsity competitive team with hopes of facing other colleges across the country.
If you'd like to be a part of Ohio State's competitive esports program, you can visit this page.