Esports has been growing for years now, but in 2020 it truly broke into the mainstream consciousness.
Since then racing esports have truly exploded, with F1 Esports seeing huge year-on-year growth and the emergence of championships like the V10 R-League that feature real-life motorsport teams and brands jumping into the sim world.
It's no surprise then, that BT Sport has created a documentary around esports called Is "Esports Overtaking?".
Taking over
Esports has often focused on FPS titles or games popular in Korea & Japan like WoW and StarCraft. The recent boom since 2020 though, has focused more on the sports simulation titles, and in particular racing.
There are several reasons for this, from the growing ability of games to accurately simulate racing to the improved accessibility to at-home equipment that puts you right into the cockpit. Perhaps the biggest though, is the willingness of major racing teams and drivers to get involved in the space.
That's part of what this BT documentary will explore.
With interviews from Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner and former F1 driver Romain Grosjean, BT Sport explores the boom in esports and why sports teams & individual stars are looking at esports in a whole new light.
It will also include footage from the V10 R-League, a Gfinity & ADMM owned championship that pits some of the biggest brands in motorsport against each other in unique single-seater cars across a range of the world's best tracks. Season 2 was won by BMW in a thrilling final against Aston Martin.
Season 3 is set to start in 2022!
How to watch Is Esports Overtaking?
The documentary will air on BT Sport 2HD on Tuesday 8 February at 10:15pm.
Check online listings for video-on-demand and repeats.