The games that could be great esports titles in 2018

The last year was great for esports.

The League of Legends World Championship saw the end of SK Telecom T1’s dynasty in front of a packed Beijing crowd, Team Liquid defied the odds to win the Dota 2 T17 after beating a string of Eastern heavyweight teams, and the Overwatch League finally kicked off with its preseason, giving fans a look at what’s to come in the new year.

Between all of these fantastic highlights, some new gaming gems started to shine, potentially paving the way for a fantastic future. The first major Call of Duty: WWII LAN event kicked off the upcoming season and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds began to show its credential as an esport with the Gamescom Invitational and IEM Oakland.

What games could become the next big esports titles? There are a few titles that have just come out or will be released in 2018 that might make the breakthrough.

Dragon Ball FighterZ

The next installment in the Dragon Ball franchise takes a step back from the arena-brawler genre and dives head first into competitive fighting games.

The game is being designed by the Guilty Gear and BlazBlue developer and promises to be a hectic fighting game full of over-the-top moves, abilities, and characters. If the game plays its cards right, it could become one of the next big fighting game titles capable of rivaling old stalwarts like Street Fighter V.

Players will need to choose three different fighters from the large roster to duke it out with their opponents. Mixing your party’s skills to get a unique set of abilities to rely on will be crucial to victory.

The game is expected to hit Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on Jan. 26.

Gwent

Card game fans have been patiently waiting for a true competitor to the Hearthstone digital monopoly to emerge.

Many games have tried and failed to get into the card game formula over the years. The Elder Scrolls Legends, failed before it even really began due to poor mechanics and poor marketing. But in Gwent, which is based on the in-game card game in the Witcher series, Hearthstone might finally have a challenger on its hands.

Gwent brings a lot of unique traits to the card game formula, such as having different rows for each unit. These units are sometimes limited to a single row, leaving them open to particular spells and abilities. Playing around your rows and opponent’s rows with weather effects and other card abilities are crucial to winning matches. It’s a fun and highly-strategic game that many players are already familiar with.

The game is currently in open beta and is expected to release officially sometime next year.

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds

PUBG is beginning to become a big title that could rival the top games like League of Legends and CS:GO.

The game catapulted to popularity in the last year and finally left early access on Dec. 20, adding a new map and the long-awaited vaulting controls.

PUBG showed glimpses of its esports future this year with the Gamescom Invitational and IEM Oakland—but there’s still a lot of work to be done.

The rules and overall spectator controls need to be fine-tuned and locked down. IEM Oakland seemed like a step in the right direction, but for PUBG to really shine, more work still needs to be done to revamp the rules moving forward.

Soul Calibur 6

It’s been nearly six years since the last Soul Calibur game was released.

Soul Calibur 6 was officially revealed to the world during The Game Awards on Dec. 8 and was given a 2018 release date for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

The game is set to feature a new mechanic called “Reversal Edge,” which can be performed using a single button. While pressing the button, players can block all attacks. Letting go of the button at the right moment in time will counter an opponent’s move.

Most of the new features, however, are still unknown as the game was only recently announced.