Pioneering esports development throughout the United States
American Values for American Esports
Global esports are dominated by anticompetitive interests from Asia and the Middle East, with Africa, Europe, Latin America, and North America, along with the unique cultures, values, and beliefs of the peoples living therein, too often taking second stage. This situation disadvantages the United States and our allies around the world and is compounded by the failure of unsustainable investment. Compounding these challenges, esports has become a tool for geopolitical posturing, the covering up of egregious human rights violations, and the creation of socioeconomic and cultural hegemony by hostile, non-aligned powers, spitting in the face of the values upon which free, fair, just, and equitable sporting is established.
We believe in the foundational values of this country and free, fair, open, and just economic policy. We're dedicated to enhancing the competitiveness and positive regard of our great nation in the eyes of the global community. We believe that through public-private collaboration, the development and implementation of a concerted plan for rapid and sustainable domestic esports development, and the normalization of American values founded upon pro-competitive economic policy and progressive morality that we can safeguard the esports industry in the United States from predatory capital and foreign direct investment, develop and implement the rec-to-pro pipeline, and build a uniquely American esports for everyone.
Fostering Publicly Responsible Esports
The United States Esports Association was founded in 2018 out of frustration with the status quo and the recognition that we as an industry can do better. On the tailwind of collaboration between Microsoft and the Washington Special Olympics in debuting the Adaptive Controller, our founder, himself an Xbox project lead at the time, saw that esports was highly unstructured, especially at the recreational and amateur levels. And while traditional sports have nonprofit organizations founded to serve the rec, amateur, and semipro communities, as well as support and promote the development of the sport as a public good, esports was and is behind in this regard and suffered, and continues to suffer, as a result. This, to him, was unacceptable, and our organization was born.
After serving as the national federation representing the United States to the Global Esports Federation for 2020 and 2021, we pivoted as an organization away from a strictly competitive focus and have instead adopted a new charitable purpose, albeit from the same foundational values that built this organization. Our commitment is to the advancement of the esports industry within the United States as globally competitive, holistically developed, and founded upon values of accessibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion, among others. It is with this expanded scope that we have reinvigorated the spirit of our organization and aspire to serve the public in keeping American esports quintessentially American. The work ahead is clear. Join us to build a better esports for everyone!
These are Our Priorities
Competition
Esports at its core is competitive, and for this reason, so are we. We believe that the creation of a unified esports ecosystem throughout the United States will allow for interoperability between tournament organizers and greater uniformity to facilitate bottom-up progression as well as encourage public and private investment for all forms of play.
Development
The professionalization of esports will only occur once adequate opportunities for clear development and experiential education are normalized. With this, we believe that the creation of pathways for entry into the industry by non-endemic folx at all stages of their professional lives will bolster endemic development and promote workforce stability.
Standardization
Once the groundwork has been laid, we believe that directing private investment towards the public good is imperative to ensure esports does not take on the discrimination and inequities of traditional industries. We believe that alignment with the United Nations will ensure that American esports benefits everyone and not just the privileged few.