These are the best esports games to try in the holidays and in 2025

The end of the year offers us a great opportunity to rest and recuperate a bit and to catch up with friends and family – and those fantastic video games we’ve been meaning to give a try to for so long but never quite got around to doing it. While we can’t help with your scheduling woes, we did put together a list for you of the ten best esports games to try, why you should give them a go, and how you can get started following their respective competitive scenes.

League of Legends

League of Legends, or LoL for short, is the bona fide esports juggernaut in the world, the crown jewel of Riot Games’ many accomplishments and the best-known MOBA game of all time. With hundreds of champions pitted against one another in the eternal five-versus-five battles between the Nexus and the inhibitors, the mix of PvE action against the creeps, the one-on-one fights in the lane and the massive teamfights that organically emerge, the LoL recipe has remained irresistible ever since the game’s release in 2009 – and, in fact, its DNA can be traced back all the way to the Defense of the Ancients custom map made for Warcraft 3. (More on that later.)

Why you should try League of Legends

Gotta be honest: you should be careful with trying League of Legends because it could easily take over your life. The aforementioned gameplay elements allow for incredible variety in match experiences, and Riot’s nonstop improvements and champion releases mean that the grind never really stops. Like with most other esports titles that attract the tryhard kind of players, it also takes thick skin to work your way through endless lobbies or random teammates. But once you do start playing…

Getting started with League of Legends esports

…then you might just find yourself entranced by LoL esports.

Riot has pioneered many of the big ideas when it comes to making competitive gaming its standalone entertainment product, and while their overall track record has been hit-and-miss at best in this regard, they do have complete control of the esports ecosystem, sanctioning and organizing the domestic leagues and the huge international competitions in the form of the Mid-Season Invitational and Worlds.

Changes are set to come to LoL esports in 2025, but the main fact remains the same: if you want to see how the best of the best play League, it’s the big boys in the competitive space that you should watch. Historically, Korea – the LCK – has been the dominant region, but fans around the world can tune in to their own regional competitions as well, and it is always a lot of fun to do so.

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike is a multi-decade tactical shooter series developed and published by Valve. The original CS was the foundation of the entire genre of games like VALORANT and Rainbow Six: Siege, and it first started out as a humble mod for the original Half-Life. Soon after, Valve purchased the IP from its original creators, and the rest, as they say, is history. For two and a half decades, CTs and Ts have been merrily chasing each other across legendary bomb sites, planting, defusing, knifing, and headshotting their way to epic victories and glorious defeats.

Why you should try Counter-Strike 2

Not many video games have transcended generations, especially not in the first-person shooter genre. But Counter-Strike is clearly here to stay, appealing to a wide range of players – so much so that its latest entry easily has over a million concurrent players on Steam at all times.

Gunfights are super fast and visceral in CS, and the intricate weapon recoils and grenade setups offer incredible depth to the five-versus-five, objective-based gameplay. Couple this with the evolving economy system and the slight asymmetry between the CTs and the Ts in terms of weaponry and goals, and you’ve got an amazing experience on your hands. Better still, Counter-Strike is a game of information: good comms, well-timed flanks and sneaky backstabs will make you feel like a genius, and – speaking from experience – they offer more than enough opportunities to make a difference in a match even if your accuracy and reflexes are not at all up to par.

With over 25 years of visceral shooting action, Counter-Strike is a must-play game for any shooter fan – and its newest edition, CS2, is a grand leap forward for the franchise. Having abandoned the original “tower of duct tape” that is the Source engine, Counter-Strike 2 offers incredible graphics and new gameplay features like volumetric smokes, and after more than a year of tinkering since its official release, it’s truly becoming a worthy successor of CS:GO – a fantastic game in its own right.

Getting started with Counter-Strike esports

Counter-Strike offers arguably the most robust tournament scene out there, with Valve maintaining a light touch over the proceedings and allowing a range of third-party tournament organizers to flourish rather than keeping everything in-house. This makes for a wide selection of talent and action in equal measure – and, in fact, this is a great time to hop aboard the hype train.

Not only has the latest Counter-Strike Major just concluded – with the inevitable rostermania to follow – but the beginning of 2025 marks a new era in competitive play where Valve has essentially demolished the semi-exclusive partnered leagues of the past, making for a more even playing field all across the board and making space for an unprecedented number of tournaments of many different styles across the calendar. With multiple tournament organizers vying for the attention of teams and fans alike, the action is going to be epic – especially when all worlds collide at the next Major in Austin, Texas, sometime in the spring.

Counter-Strike is also blessed by some of the best casters and commentators in the entire esports industry, with four or five pairings that would each be chart-toppers in a different game. CS is an easy game to pick up and follow, and their fantastic narration makes it all the more fun to tune in to the action and appreciate the gaming greats.

Dota 2

Defense of the Ancients. The original Warcraft 3 mod. (If you want to go even further back in the lineage, look into the Aeon of Strife custom map for the original StarCraft.) League and Dota had a long and contentious rivalry over the decades, but perhaps now all fans can agree that both games are sterling takes on the MOBA genre and fantastic esports experiences as well. Going from its humble beginnings as a mod to a bona fide Valve property, Dota 2, released in 2013, is often seen as the favorite child of Gabe Newell’s merry men in Bellevue, with regular updates and strong Steam integration making it a special gaming experience.

Why you should try Dota 2

If League of Legends just isn’t hardcore enough for you, then Dota is the game you should try. From execution to synergies and skillsets, it’s just all a little bit more complex than what you can find in LoL, which has its incredible benefits if you can get to the bottom of it all (and stay up to date on all the new stuff), making for a rich and rewarding gaming experience.

If you have a few thousand hours to spare, that is.

Getting started with Dota 2 esports

Dota 2 esports has undergone a quiet revolution of sorts in recent years, but the aim has always been the same: to qualify for The International, the biggest event out there – and for a long time, the single biggest esports prize pool anywhere in the world.

For most of the past decade, the Dota Pro Circuit served as the foundational structure of competitions, with the circuit points earned across the various events helping teams qualify for The International, or TI. Recently, Valve took a step back and returned to the old ways, mothballing the DPC for a more freeform approach, but the main story has not changed: The International, even with a diminished prize pool, is the greatest Dota 2 esports event out there, any and competition that can help you qualify for it is a must-watch for Dota fans all around the world.

Arena of Valor and Honor of Kings

Mobile gaming has gone on an incredible trajectory over the past decade and a half, and Arena of Valor is one of the flagships of this trend, especially where competitive games are concerned. Arena of Valor follows the same MOBA formula as League or Dota 2 does, based on the Chinese original called Honor of Kings, which is also known as King of Glory in the Western markets. The game features a faster pace than the mainstream classics and also offers 1v1 and 3v3 modes alongside other arcade offerings, making for a unique gameplay experience.

Why you should try Arena of Valor

Looking for something fast-paced and a little different? Then Arena of Valor is a fantastic game to check out, especially if you are already a fan of League of Legends. Their similarities are no coincidence: the developers’ company is also owned by Tencent, making them a sister company to Riot Games, so some knowledge crossover is also to be expected. Arena of Valor also offers you the opportunity to play a proper MOBA on the Switch, which by itself makes it worth checking out for those lucky enough to own Nintendo’s popular console.

Getting started with Arena of Valor esports

Arena of Valor esports has a huge footprint in Asia, but the Arena of Valor World Cup has teams and players participating from all over the world. After 2021, the Honor of Kings and Arena of Valor World Cups have been merged to create some incredible interregional action. Arena of Valor is also a mainstay of the Asian Games.

Rocket League

Rocket League offers up the ultimate kindergarten boy fantasy: cars playing soccer! Rocket-powered ones, no less! (In fact, Psyonix’s predecessor game was called Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars, just to hammer the point home. With an intricate turbo and boost system available, with precise spins and flips in the air, there is a lot of skill expression in Rocket League, making high-level play truly spectacular to watch.

And have we mentioned how it’s all about cars playing soccer?!?!

Why you should try Rocket League

Even playing as an amateur, Rocket League is just a super fun game – again, cars playing soccer! –, and unlike many other esports, it is a family-friendly affair to boot. While it takes a lot of practice to master the more complicated aspects of the controls of the game, which allow for some truly spectacular plays, Rocket League is already very enjoyable at lower levels, even if you lack the ability to pull off the truly sick moves. With quick matches and small teams, you will always be involved in the action, and if things didn’t quite go your way in the game, it is fast and easy to find another one.

Getting started with Rocket League esports

The best Rocket League players in the world are capable of some truly fantastic plays, and with a dedicated roster focusing on synergies, they also display a level of strategy and coordination you won’t find in a pub game. So of course it’s a ton of fun to watch!

The main pillar of Rocket League esports competitions is the RLCS, or the Rocket League Championship Series. The game was also part of the Esports World Cup and the FIFAe World Cup, so it is clearly making waves beyond the car- (and football-)loving niche of gamers.

VALORANT

For a decade and a half, Riot Games was synonymous with League of Legends, but in 2020, they came out with VALORANT, previously known as Project A, which is essentially their own take on the Counter-Strike formula, but with hero shooter elements introduced to the mix alongside some other notable changes.

Why you should try VALORANT

VALORANT brings to bear Riot’s trademark polish and rapid update cadence to offer a different flavor of the five-versus-five objective-based tactical shooter formula. But make no mistake, the gunplay is very much in the style of CS, with punishingly quick encounters and notable recoil patterns – even if nothing as excessive as what you’d get in Counter-Strike.

So if you find CS a bit too fast and visceral for your taste and would like to do a little bit more than just shooting in your shooter, then VALORANT might just be the game for you. Take one of the many Agents – superpowered characters from all around the world – to form a team of attackers and defenders (not CTs and Ts) to plant or defuse a Spike (which is not at all a bomb) in a set of clean and crisp graphical environments to explore, and have some fun along the way.

Getting started with VALORANT esports

Riot’s tinkered a lot with the official VALORANT esports structure over the years since the game’s 2020 release, but the VALORANT Champions Tour (abbreviated as VCT) has always been the cornerstone of the experience. First, it was a set of open tournaments, and then a similar sort of partnership system was introduced as what’s standard in League of Legends. Here, non-partnered teams actually have an opportunity to compete with the best of them on occasion.

The standard VCT season features regional leagues and interregional tournaments for the best of them, with VALORANT Champions serving as the conclusion of the calendar year in a “world championship” of sorts for the game. Those not in the partnered leagues can earn a temporary promotion to them through the Challengers and Ascension events. We’ve got more info for you about the structure of VALORANT esports – but rest assured, all of these events are worth keeping an eye on.

Apex Legends

Apex Legends, or Apex for short, takes the battle royale formula that was first popularized by PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) and then Fortnite, turning it into a class-based team shooter experience. Developed by Respawn Entertainment of Titanfall fame, Apex is a fascinating experiment in putting a new spin on a classic gaming formula.

Why you should try Apex Legends

Apex’s focus on teamplay in a battle royale setting (and the class-based element) makes for a unique mix that is well worth experiencing for yourself, with crisp and satisfying gunplay and a great, ping-based nonverbal comms system that has basically become the industry standard ever since. While the game is no Titanfall 3, it is an excellent multiplayer shooter in its own right, constantly getting all the bells and whistles you would expect from a live service game. And say what you will about EA, having a juggernaut of a publisher behind you definitely has its benefits.

Getting started with Apex Legends esports

Apex Legends esports is primarily organized around the ALGS, or the Apex Legends Global Series, with annualized seasons. Year 4 of the competition will conclude with its Championship event between January 29, 2025 and February 2, before everything resets again. Apex esports, it being a team-based battle royale, has an interesting, points-based system for competitive events, where teams gain points based on their finish in the lobby over repeated matches, with an outright win required to seal the deal once a certain points threshold is reached. It is quite different from the standard matchmaking lobby experience, making it a very interesting viewing experience in its own right.

Call of Duty

It’s okay: we understand the prejudice. But beneath the pile of screaming thirteen-year-olds and the obnoxious collab skins, there’s a truly tight gaming experience humming below the surface, and there’s a reason why the franchise stuck around for so long when many others have faltered.

Why you should try Call of Duty

I mean, haven’t you yet? At any point over the past 20 years? The original Call of Duty was released back in 2003, the world-changing first Modern Warfare came only four years later in 2007, and we are now on over 500 million lifetime copies sold and the twenty-first mainline entry in the form of Black Ops 6.

Incidentally, Black Ops 6 is getting rave reviews from CoD enthusiasts, courtesy of its omnmovement system and the reintroduction of many beloved content pieces from past entries of the series. If you’ve taken some time to cool off CoD – or actually managed to avoid this gaming behemoth somehow – then it is a good time to try this super-polished, arcadey, yet skill-testing shooter.

Getting started with Call of Duty esports

Every time a new Call of Duty game is released, it is a really big deal in the gaming world – and it just so happens to be Activision-Blizzard’s (now Microsoft’s) best esports property, too. The CDL, or Call of Duty League, was founded in 2020 and has quickly surpassed endeavors like the ill-fated Overwatch League in terms of competitive appeal, even if the foundations are similar, to begin with: city-based permanent franchise teams battling it out during the regular season and exciting Majors and championship playoffs to determine the strongest squad in the year.

Since 2021, the league has used a four-versus-four format rather than the previous five-versus-five, and “Domination” was replaced by “Control” in the competitive scene. The 2025 season will mark a watershed moment for Call of Duty esports as the first Major will take place in Madrid, going past the borders of North America for the first time since the inaugural season. Needless to say, the Majors and the championship finals are great gateways to get started with CoD esports.

Deadlock

Deadlock is Valve’s upcoming new game project, and it is already making serious waves even long before its official 1.0 release. With an invite-only closed beta that is rapidly expanding over time – now anyone can snag an invitation through a Steam friend who already has access – Deadlock was an open secret for many months and a great fascination of the competitive gaming community.

Its exciting mix of class-based shooter mechanics with the complexities of a MOBA – lanes, creeps, scaling abilities, encyclopedias’ worth of builds and item choices – it is a fascinating evolution of its respective genres.

Why you should try Deadlock

With fairly forgiving shooting and a deep list of mechanics, Deadlock is truly the thinking man’s team shooter – or even the MOBA players’, if you want to go that far. if you can keep up with the rapid pace of changes that inevitably come with being so early in the development cycle, you still have the opportunity to get in at a fairly early juncture and get some valuable experience. It comes with Valve’s trademark polish and attention to detail, and the gameplay loop is addicting and truly something special. Even with limited bells and whistles, it already dwarfs many competitors in the hero shooter space, with no doubt more goodies to come.

Getting started with Deadlock esports

Deadlock’s competitive scene is still in its infancy, but there is incredible grassroots interest in Valve’s intriguing mix of the MOBA and hero shooter formulas. Already, the addition of an in-game ranked matchmaking mode has brought out the tryhard from everyone, but even more importantly, there are many player-organized small tournaments that bode very well for the competitive future of the game, so “Deadlock esports,” so to speak, is going strong even long before the game is ever slated to hit its 1.0 release.

So much so, in fact, that the players’ self-established competitive ruleset is already more interesting and impressive than the actual ranked mode, with the enterprising esports pros self-establishing the same sort of hero pick-ban phase you’d see in games like Dota 2, making for a much more involved experience for players and fans alike. Why not check out Deadlock Fight Night, an invite-only series that uses a King of the Hill-style format with a returning champ team taking on a new challenger each week? It’s a great way to get started with Deadlock esports.

StarCraft 2

There is nothing quite like the classics, and there still hasn’t been a game that surpassed the juggernaut of the real-time strategy genre: StarCraft 2. One of the pioneering esports titles, the StarCraft franchise paved the way for many of the industry giants we are enjoying today, and it still remains a great game and a fantastic esport in its own right, even if post-release support is understandably scarce fourteen years down the line. However, every cloud has a silver lining: since 2017, Blizzard has made the multiplayer, the co-op mode, and the first solo campaign available for free. And at the highest levels of play, the action continues to be nothing short of incredible.

Why you should try StarCraft 2

As previously mentioned, the fact that most of StarCraft 2’s content is now available to you for free makes it a no-brainer to suggest as a holiday esports title, especially if you are interested in real-time strategy games. Since it wasn’t originally built as a live service game – in fact, it greatly predates the entire concept – StarCraft is a very different sort of package, a AAA blast from the past with fantastic gameplay even if you play it solo in the story mode, or with friends to encounter all the twists and turns of its memorable sci-fi campaign.

And despite the many, many efforts, no one has really managed to nail the magic formula ever since. If you are looking for a tightly designed, very entertaining three-race RTS with a sky-high skill ceiling, this is still the game for you.

Getting started with StarCraft 2 esports

StarCraft’s esports scene is long past its heyday now, but it still maintains interest from legends of the game and it is notable enough to maintain a spot at the Esports World Cup. Nevertheless, at the time of writing, plans for the 2025 competitive calendar are still in flux, but that doesn’t stop third-party tournament organizers from still organizing classic competitions like HomeStory Cup and other enterprises like Master’s Coliseum, with no doubt still more to come.

The best esports games to try in the holiday season, summarized

Depending on the genre you’re looking for, you have many different esports gaming options to check out during the 2024 holiday season. For tactical shooters, Counter-Strike and VALORANT are definitely the way to go, with Call of Duty also surprisingly well worth considering; for MOBAs, try League of Legends and Dota 2 for the best possible experience.Interesting class-based shooters include Apex Legends for the battle royale flavor and Deadlock for a fun mix of shooter and MOBA elements. Strategy fans are still best served by StarCraft 2. If you’re looking for something lighter, Rocket League is a great shout, and if you are specifically searching for something that you can play on your phone, Arena of Valor and Honor of Kings are excellent esports gaming choices, too.