Welcome to eSports 101 is what some Filipinos students are hoping to hear this upcoming fall semester. Well, maybe, there is a chance that if approved by the commissioner of Higher Education that Lyceum University (LPU) students could enroll in the Esports program and receive a Bachelor of Science degree upon completion.
It’s true, Lyceum of the Philippines University and Tier One Entertainment are working on a four-year curriculum that could be offered this upcoming school year.
Tier One Entertainment chief executive officer Tryke Gutierrez told the media that the program would have two tracks: gaming development and esports management. Tryke said that the goal is to provide more gaming opportunities for people across Asia and that they hope to see a generation of graduates ready to work in the esports and gaming industry. Gutierrez went on to say that the program will not be easy as he encouraged future students to take the courses seriously.
Esports has seen a rise in popularity around the world over the past few years, especially in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. In 2019, esports was officially added to the Southeast Asian Games (SEA), bringing teams from across Asia together for competition. It also marked the first time an eSports team was named a national team in the Philippines.
With the rise of popularity, eSports also found its way into the online sports betting market. Betting on eSports is still in its infancy, but the market is expected to shoot through the roof in the next few years as more teams around the world are established.
Around the world, video games are a multi-billion-dollar a year industry, and some Universities have already started offering game-related courses, mostly game development. There are nine universities across the Philippines that already provide a gaming-development program but nothing as specific to esports as what you could find at LPU.