CINCINNATI, Ohio — Esports revenue is expected to reach close to two-billion dollars by 2025, according to Statistsa.com, which means a lot of potential jobs in Ohio and across the country.
A new program run by the Cincinnati Recreation Commission is reaching out to young gamers to encourage them to consider careers in the video gaming industry.
“Esports Saturdays is a collaborative effort with Cincy Fear, Channel 3 Gaming, the library and the city to not only provide gaming on various platforms to the youth but to show them kind of what they can go into job-wise,” said Joe Berta, the service area coordinator for the CRC’s Lincoln Recreation Center in the city’s West End.
Participants watch short videos featuring local gaming experts, and they get to learn in-person from Joel Willis, a champion gamer and founder of Channel 3, a Cincinnati-based start-up.
“We are the technology platform that we’re using to run this program,” Willis said. “It’s basically a social media network where it’s got brackets and ranks and teams and stats and clips and all that stuff. So we provide the technology. We’re working with Cincinnati Fear, which is a professional Esports organization, and then we’re working with the CRC, and all of these groups are in Cincinnati, Ohio, which is just so cool to me because I love this city, to see this all come together in such a cool program.”
What’s even cooler for the kids is finding out they can actually make a good living in gaming.
“We’re teaching kids that there are career opportunities in the gaming space related to the video game industry, and it’s not just being a professional Esports player and being amazing at a game,” Willis said.
“Gaming is a billion dollar industry that the majority of our kids are participating in at their house already,” Berta said. “So we’re trying to get them out of the house, off the couch, and in around some other gamers.”
Participant Sirron Baker is a student at Woodward Career Technical High School. He’d like to see more young gamers join the program here.
“If you like gaming, if you like meeting cool people, and you just like a cool place to hang out on your Saturday evening or afternoon, come down to Esports,” he said.
Berta said they’re trying to expose kids to the program that may broaden their horizons in the industry.
“Number one, have fun: that’s the number one goal,” Willis said. “It’s like, just take a second and realize that we live in a time where we can all get together and play video games competitively. Like, how cool is that, right?”