By Alisha Dhar
The new esports major and lab at William Peace University are gaining attention across the Triangle. After the launch of the new lab this year, ABC11 and Raleigh Magazine wrote articles and had segments about it.
This led to U.S. Representative Deborah Ross stopping by March 4 to check out the new facility. Rep. Ross is a part of the Science Technology Engineering Arts and Math (STEAM) caucus and is looking for the newest cutting edge technology.
“Making sure we train the talent, which is exactly what you’re doing here at William Peace University, is going to be key to not just keeping the companies we have, but attracting even more,” Ross said of the potential for esports jobs in the region..
Esports is short for electronic sports and is a form of competition through video games, either as individuals or as a team. The esports major became available to students Fall 2021 and was designed to complement the SGD major. At the beginning of the spring semester, William Peace University opened a new high-tech esports and gaming lab.
This is one of the only labs in the RTP area. Roger Christman, the department chair for art, communication and SGD believes WPU is preparing students for a competitive profession with limitless possibilities.
“Raleigh is home to numerous video game and esports companies along with esport events, and WPU can provide graduates with these skills these companies hunger for,” said Christman.
According to WPU, the lab features new innovative technologies, including: ‘10 Alienware Aurora R12 gaming desktops with 11th-gen Core i9 processors, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080/10GB GDDR6x, and 32GB of RAM. and TITAN Evo 2022 Series. The students were also provided with new gaming chairs.’
A large benefit that students get by studying in downtown Raleigh is the prompt access to the technological industry in the area. The new major will include more than just learning about video games.
Within the major, students will have to take business, psychology, and marketing courses to learn the complexity of what the industry entails. This is to allow students to get a holistic understanding of the industry and dive into every aspect of it.
According to CNN, the industry has been blowing up the past couple of years, with revenues going over $906 million worldwide. Much of the revenue comes from brands, video game producers, and selling units of the game itself.
Similar to professional athletes, players are capable of making over seven figures a year by winning tournaments with prize money.
With the sportsmanship mentality and teamwork rooted in this up and coming industry, students who are competing are able to meet individuals who have similar interests and work together to win competitions.
Ethan Finsel is a sophomore majoring in simulation and game design. He is excited for the addition to the WPU community, and the expansion of the industry.
“I can already see a community forming around the esports lab. It’s a place where we can meet people who play the same games as us and want to get more serious about it,” said Finsel.
There are two esports teams, Rocket League and Valorant, who compete with each other and are preparing for competitions later in the semester.
The competitions are open to all students from different majors and allows them to branch out of their comfort zone.
This new major not only gives students more opportunities to learn about topics that pertain to their interests but also strengthens the gaming community on campus.
“For me, it’s been an amazing time finding a new group of people that want to get better at a game we all enjoy and to push each other to get better too. I think this helps with my major of simulation and game design by allowing me to make connections with those with the same major and be able to start something essentially new to everyone with them,” said Finsel.
