Esports Games Don’t Die: How Esports Communities Endure as Games Age

“Dead game” is the ultimate insult any esports game can face. Spammed in Twitch chat when a game has low viewers or when its player numbers fall below some arbitrary threshold. A dead game has ‘no players.’ Its player base and esports scene has moved on. The developer doesn’t support it. It’s gone and no one even bothers with it. Or do they? 

In reality, ‘game death’ isn’t some kind of final and complete thing. Games don’t just disappear. While playerbases move, and trends change, instead of dying, the vast majority of games just shrink. They find a size they’re comfortable with, and the dedicated few keep playing no matter what.