The History of FPS Esports (2026) – From Doom to Valorant

First Person Shooters (FPS) has been one of the most popular esports games for 30 years now. With fast-paced action and a lot of variation between different first-person shooting games, the genre has a very rich history. In this post, we'll cover popular FPS games like CS:GO and Valorant, as well as how various other games have played an important role in the evolution of FPS esports.

The predecessors of FPS games

Most of you may not know this, but the first-ever FPS-type game was developed by NASA in 1973! Maze War, a game where you went to war in a maze, was an extremely basic form of an FPS game. Up until the early 1990s, games like Midi Maze, Phantom Slayer, Catacomb 3D, and Cyber Cop were all released. Each of these games was part of the FPS's evolutionary history, leading to the first "real FPS" game to be launched in 1992.

Maze War gameplay — Maze War (1973) – the NASA-developed ancestor of every first-person shooter that followed.

The first FPS game

Wolfenstein 3D was the first FPS game and was released in May 1992. The game started the FPS craze that has lasted for the best part of almost 30 years now. Another widely regarded and influential game in the genre was Doom, which was released in December 1993 and was a precursor to the widespread acceptance and popularity of first-person shooters. In 1996, Quake was released and featured real-time 3D rendering and a far superior resolution when compared to the games of '93. Then, in 1998, Rainbow 6 was launched and added more realistic elements like headshots and better graphics. Up until this point, FPS games were PC-dominated, but this was all about to change with the release of Halo in 2001. Halo was one of the first hugely popular console FPS games, with mass adoption on Xbox starting upon its release.

Unreal Tournament 3 gameplay — Unreal Tournament 3 – arena shooters helped define competitive FPS play.

The most popular FPS esports games

Now, as we know a little about the history of first-person shooters in general, it's time to take a look at the history of FPS esports.

Wolfenstein series (1992-)

One of the greatest game series, forever. Thanks to the groundbreaking work done by Muse Software back in the '80s, the whole FPS genre was born in the '90s when ID Software released the first-ever FPS, Wolfenstein 3D. Although the Wolfenstein series is not dominating the global esports scene anymore, it still has a loyal fanbase.

Wolfenstein 3D gameplay — Wolfenstein 3D (1992) – the game that launched the entire FPS genre.

Doom series (1993-)

As a game that started the arena deathmatch game format and one of the first games to allow for online gameplay, the Doom series is always one of the first game series covered when talking about the history of FPS esports. It's one of the games that was played in the Deathmatch '95 tournament, which is regarded as one of the first esports tournaments ever.

Doom 2 gameplay — Doom II gameplay – the series that pioneered competitive deathmatch.

The Quake series (1996-)

With the first version of the game released in 1996, Quake is one of the oldest esports games around. The first tournament where a Quake game was played was hosted in 1997, the winner of which took home a Ferrari! QuakeCon is an annual Quake competition considered one of the largest esports events in North America.

Quake Live gameplay — Quake Live – the arena FPS formula that helped shape professional esports.

Rainbow Six series (1998-)

The Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six series has been going strong for well over twenty years. Rainbow Six: Siege is the first Rainbow Six game developed exclusively for esports, with the first competition already being hosted within a year of its release in 2015.

Rainbow Six Siege gameplay — Rainbow Six: Siege – a tactical shooter built from the ground up for esports.

The Counter-Strike series (1999-)

Counter-Strike is a game most of you reading this post will already know, with various new releases over the span of 20 years. The largest prize ever to be won in Counter-Strike esports was $1.5 million. Counter-Strike is still one of the most popular esports FPS games with a history in esports that spans over 20 years. For up-to-date CS2 statistics and match coverage, see HLTV.org.

CS:GO gameplay — Counter-Strike – two decades of tactical 5v5 gunplay and the largest FPS esports scene on the planet.

The Halo series (2001-)

The first Halo game was released in 2001 and was seen as a trendsetter in the esports scene. From 2015 onwards, Halo has seen renewed interest with extremely large prize pools.

Halo Infinite gameplay — Halo Infinite – the latest entry in the console-FPS series that defined competitive Xbox play.

The Battlefield series (2002-)

The first of the Battlefield series came out in 2002 on Windows and OSX, with a large number of subsequent series being released.

Battlefield 4 gameplay — Battlefield 4 – large-scale combined-arms combat that pushed PC FPS boundaries.

Call of Duty series (2003-)

With the first release in 2003 and plenty of new releases right to the current day, Call of Duty is another hugely popular first-person shooter. The first adoption of Call of Duty in esports was seen in 2006, with steady growth in subsequent years.

Call of Duty Warzone gameplay — Call of Duty: Warzone – the modern face of the CoD franchise across cross-platform competitive play.

Overwatch (2016-)

First published in 2016, Overwatch is one of the most recent esports games on this list. The Overwatch League, launched in 2018, is the largest Overwatch esports league with prize pools over $1 million.

Overwatch gameplay — Overwatch – Blizzard's hero shooter drove the franchised-league model in esports.

Valorant (2020-)

This free-to-play first-person shooter was released in June of 2020 and is set to become a huge esports game. It's a game where player skill far outweighs any weapons or features included in the game. Follow the competitive scene on Liquipedia Valorant.

Valorant gameplay — Valorant – Riot's tactical shooter combined Counter-Strike precision with hero abilities.

What is the biggest FPS esports?

By a wide margin, CS2 is the biggest and most popular FPS esports. Launched in 2023, the game continues to top the charts. You can follow live CS2 results on our CS2 scores page.

Esports earnings rankings — All-time FPS earnings show Counter-Strike dominating the genre by prize money.

Conclusions

As new games are developed, the esports scene is set to continue to grow. As said by the North-American FPS gaming superstar Shroud – "FPS is a genre that will never die".