Esports Fandom

Abstract

Esports is dependent on the activities of fans, from the inception of its genres as modded fan creations, to its everyday lived experiences at events, in live-streamed spaces or through playing. This chapter explores the significance of fandom in esports through introducing readers to key theoretical frameworks that underpin the fields of cultural, game and fan studies. These fields frequently encompass debates surrounding fan identities, fan creativity and the ever-changing relations fans negotiate with media industries. Esports provides an exemplary case study for an industry defined by its online enabled fans and one that is in a continual co-creative dialogue, as this chapter explores through a variety of esports examples