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How WordPress Developers Can Tap into Esports Culture

How WordPress Developers Can Tap into Esports Culture

David Colby / September 5th, 2025

Esports, or competitive gaming, continues to grow in popularity. The Esports industry is expected to be worth an estimated $6bn a year by 2030, and this doesn’t include casual and non-competitive gaming.

It has become increasingly popular with spectators, as well, and this, in turn, has led to greater monetization possibilities. WordPress developers, site owners, affiliate marketers, and other online entrepreneurs can leverage this increasing popularity to their own ends.

In particular, developers can implement relevant themes, establish sites to sell merchandise or share content, and they can profit from affiliate and advertising revenue.

Esports Popularity

There are a growing number of million-dollar-plus tournaments taking place every year, and events are seeing increased popularity with viewers and fans as well as players.

A growing number of websites now incorporate Esports and related competitions into their design. Skinsluck, for example, is a trusted CSGO betting site that lets players compete and try their luck to win new CSGO and other skins. The site has obvious appeal to Counter Strike players for its rewards, but it is also popular because its games are provably fair, having been developed on blockchain and using cryptocurrency.

Use Esports Themes

Halo 2 was the first game to feature in a televised Esports tournament, and League of Legends remains one of the most popular titles. But as Esports has grown in popularity, so too has the range of video games that are played competitively.

Some of the most popular include League of Legends, Overwatch, Call of Duty, Rocket League, and Counter-Strike.

Developers can create website templates and designs using some of the most popular titles or create themes that have the appearance and feeling of such games. Alternatively, more generic gaming themes make viable alternatives.

Employ Gamification Elements

If there’s one thing we know about gamers and Esports fans, it’s that they enjoy gaming. This likely means that they will also enjoy gamification – the use of gaming elements in non-gaming situations.

Gamification is used in lots of aspects of life. Fitness apps use it to encourage people to get healthy. Shops and businesses use gamification to encourage their customers to buy more or to recommend them to friends. It’s also used in the non-gaming side of gaming, i.e., on gaming platforms and even in online game stores.

Similarly, it can be used on membership and ecommerce websites to potentially help increase profits, maximize engagement, and generate the best results.

Sell Gaming Merchandise

Esports teams like Team Liquid, Fnatic, and FaZe Clan have millions of global followers. Many of these followers like to show their love for their teams in the same way traditional sports fans do.

It is possible to find branded merchandise for all of the biggest Esports teams, as well as for some of the most successful and popular individual players and streamers. Website developers can sell these products and earn referral or affiliate commissions.

As well as physical merchandise, it is also possible to sell digital games and other digital items to earn commissions. Some Esports teams now even offer their own fan tokens – a form of cryptocurrency – and it is possible to buy and sell these tokens, sometimes earning commission for doing so.

Giveaways

Giveaways are a great way to attract site visitors. They can also be used to build an email list, develop a social media following, and generally create a buzz around a website or business.

While physical giveaways can be impractical, especially if a business is looking to appeal to a global audience, digital giveaways are more convenient. And, Esports fans are likely to be open to the idea of digital products like game discounts, download codes, and even items like skins, avatars, and other in-game giveaways.

Incorporating giveaways into an Esports website, especially if there are new and regularly updated giveaways, can be a great way to encourage players to keep coming back for more.

Offer Game Hosting

It’s fairly common to see some of the most popular Twitchers and streamers hosting their own video games and inviting members of the community to play on those servers. This offers server members somewhere to game, and potentially somewhere to socialize with other people who share at least some similar interests.

It isn’t just streamers who can benefit from this. Any individual, business, or website can host gaming servers. While it wouldn’t be practical to offer unlimited servers, providing a limited amount of gaming space to Esports fans is a good way to encourage them to keep returning to a site.

It’s even possible to advertise via the server, or to request contact details in exchange for access to the server – another potentially effective way to build a dedicated community.

Share Videos

Website owners can create any type of content to add to their site. This can include text-based or image-based content, apps, and other static content. However, gamers and Esports lovers typically prefer video or even live footage.

Fortunately, there is a lot of video footage of Esports games as well as videos of streamers and other content that can be found and included on websites.

Videos don’t have to be the main subject of the site, but incorporating some clips will help provide Esports fans with the content they enjoy consuming. Making your own gaming videos can also provide the site owner with effective content for potentially powerful video marketing campaigns.

Collaborate

Collaborations are huge in social media promotion, influencer marketing, and for streaming. This combination means that WordPress site developers can collaborate with well-known names from the worlds of streaming or Esports to help build their website and brand.

Streamers typically have very loyal followers – followers who are generally willing to follow their favourite names to other channels. Streamers with well-curated lists and carefully managed content can hold a lot of sway with their viewers, which means landing a collaborative partnership with one or two professional gamers can have a significant impact on a website’s marketing efforts.

Collaborations can take many forms, ranging from video sponsorships to having a streamer try out a new game or other new product.

Conclusion

Esports’ popularity continues to grow in line with the popularity of gaming, in general. For developers and entrepreneurs, this offers a lot of potential opportunity to benefit from a tech-savvy group of online gamers – individuals who typically enjoy video and live content, are comfortable with digital products, and who can be very loyal followers.