2025

Koskimaa, Raine

This chapter aims to offer an overview of the common traits of esports culture in Europe, as well as some of the main national characteristics within the region. The importance of LAN parties and grassroots development of organized video game competitions figures heavily as a basis. Additionally, the chapter discusses the integration of esports in the media landscape and development of regional esports hubs. The main esports game genres, games, and most successful teams and players in Europe are also highlighted. The importance of nationality among esports spectatorship is also covered. Key highlights include: 1) The roots of the European esports culture are in the LAN parties of the early 1990s, 2) DreamHack (Sweden) and ESL (Germany) have grown into global esports organizations, 3) There are national and regional esports cultures, but also a common European culture emerging, 4) Counter Strike: Global Offensive has an important role in European esports culture, along with FIFA and Sim Racing esports which are also especially popular in Europe, and 5) European Esports culture is driven by two main trends: "sportification" and digital culture.