eSports has become one of the most cutting-edge new sectors in entertainment. In fact, many leagues, teams, and even players are on par with traditional sports counterparts in terms of fame and global reach. Though eSports salaries aren’t quite level with traditional athletes, that’s likely to change someday.
The popularity of competitive gaming has opened the doors to millions of players. But unlike the world of traditional sports, pro gaming is slightly more accessible to solid gamers. These players build on their natural talents and interests to improve their accuracy, hand-eye coordination, communication skills, and more. In other words, the best players rely on a balance of intrinsic talent and developed skills.
But how do they go about developing those skills? The path forward isn’t quite as clear as it is in other industries. For example, poker players who have dreams of going pro have access to programs that can prepare them for a career in Texas Hold’em. There are programs like the PokerStars Power Path, which lay out a training route and path to online tournaments and in-person events.
Though poker players still need to put in the time, effort, and discipline to forge ahead, there’s a roadmap available in the Power Path. But eSports hopefuls need to spearhead their own training regimes if they want to go pro one day. Here are some of the most popular apps on the market that help players train various skills, from improving their aim to reading other players.
Game Gym
Enter the eSports gym: Game Gym. This app offers a few different options for eSports players. First, the company hosts virtual camps that focus on a variety of games, offering an entry-level look at competitive gaming and various genres. There’s also a browser and app-based training and education program, which allows players to focus on their specific interests. Lastly, Game Gym also offers private training for players who have a strong focus and concrete goals for improvement.
FITGMR
FITGMR (an acronym for ‘fit gamer’) offers a browser platform that focuses on the most competitive eSports titles. Players can select different programs to help improve their skills, from coaching sessions to hardware resources to team dashboards that make benchmarking for groups easy. This makes it a popular choice for more established teams that need to focus on making concrete improvements. The focus is concretely on popular and competitive eSports like Rocket League, Overwatch, and League of Legends.
3D Aim Trainer
Here, we have a highly specialized first-person shooter training app. The goal is to help train players who compete in FPS games like Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, Fortnite, and many more. Uniquely, the program is entirely free, allowing players to sift through over 200 amazing training drills to select those that meet their needs. According to the platform, there are twelve million registered gamers using 3D Aim Trainer to take their game to the next level. At the moment, 3D Aim Trainer doesn’t offer programs that are geared towards teams.
Gamer Sensei
Gamer Sensei offers various approaches to its training programs, mostly divided between solo players and teams. The platform specializes in its bundles, which help groups tackle more complex skills. Gamer Sensei works by players or teams first selecting their focus game, then exploring various coaches. Most coaches have multi-year experience in competitive eSports related to their favorite game, letting players focus on finding the right professional for them.
Google’s SIMA
Unsurprisingly, Google’s DeepMind AI program now has a branch dedicated to gaming. SIMA is an AI program that’s designed to perceive and understand digital environments, including those found in games. Though the technology is still in its infancy, the idea is that SIMA can be trained to understand the goal of a video game and then navigate through various levels or open worlds. Once SIMA has been trained in a certain game, it could also be used to help train players through practice rounds. However, it’s unclear whether it would be marketed towards teams.
