Esports Is Dying, And I Know How To Save it | Asmongold

In a recent episode of his stream, Asmongold reacted to news that the esports organization Sentinels had posted an offering memorandum stating it would run out of money in two to three months unless it raised $1.2 million. Even if it raised the full amount, the company would only survive four to five more months, burning roughly $700,000 per month on player and staff salaries. Asmongold used this as a launching point for a broader argument: esports is dying, and the industry’s core problems are structural, cultural, and self-inflicted.

The Bubble Has Burst

Asmongold argued that esports has been overvalued for years, sustained by investor money chasing a promise that competitive gaming would eventually become like traditional sports. “Investments of money on some theoretical future return,” he said, “but at a certain point, the chickens come home to roost, and it's been 10 fucking years.” He pointed to a globally declining economy as an accelerant, but the deeper issue is that the business model never worked. Organizations pay players high six-figure salaries but cannot recoup the cost. “They pay somebody a hundred thousand dollars and then they make thirty thousand dollars,” he said. Meanwhile, the games themselves are volatile. Esports viewership rises and falls with the popularity of the underlying title. Overwatch, once a juggernaut, is now a cautionary tale: “sponsors