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Is Drone Racing An Esport?

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Have you ever purchased a drone and thought about racing it? Maybe you are flipping through channels and just witnessed your first drone race! Well, now that you are hooked, I’m sure you are wondering if it is an Esport. Well, in this article we will go over everything you need to know about drone racing and if it is an Esport or not. 

So, is drone racing an Esport?

Although both drone races and Esports are televised, drone racing is not an Esport. This is because Esports are only video games that you people play against each other and not actually games or races in person on actual courses like with drones. 

If you want to check out our top drones for racing, you can see them by clicking here.
You can also keep reading this article to learn about drone racing and Esports. 

Drone racing

Drone racing is an activity from which the racers like to use a headset, controller, and quadcopter with a mounted camera to compete against the competitors. Although it is fun, it is nor televised as most Esports are. FPV (first-person view or first-person video) is a type of sport where the applicants control the radio-controlled aircraft or quadcopters typically known as drones. The drones are provided with cameras while wearing head-mounted displays offering the live stream camera feed from the drones. Like the other aircraft competition, drone racing aims to fulfill the goal as soon as possible.

Drone racing started in Australia in late 2013 and early 2014 in Brisbane and Melbourne. Undoubtedly, drone racing is a highly competitive racing sport. The master pilots run the drones via three-dimensional courses at a higher speed up to 120mph. The racing displays a live image conducted by a large camera.

Esports

Esports states the world of competitive and well-planned video gaming. The competitors of various leagues take part in the same game. The Fortnite, League of Legends, Call of Duty, and Overwatch are the names of  Esports. The Esports games can be watched online and TV by the fans all over the world.  Esports is nothing but a form of a competitive video game. The professional, organized eSports team may compete for the video games by taking part in their home. They can entertain their fans through Twitch and YouTube live video streaming. Officially, Esports stands for competitive gaming with tournament-based structure and cash prizes.

Why is drone racing, not an Esports? 

  • Like Esports, drone racing has leagues, growing numbers of followers and sponsors. Drone racing is individual gaming though, where the pilot runs the drone-like aircraft over the challenging places. In Esports though, the players play video games virtually, and they don’t get in real connection to the gaming object.
  • In drone racing, pilots need to be careful about facing real-life plane crashing and obstacles while flying the aircraft. In eSports, the players face problems in the virtual world. They sort out the problems by using video gaming tools. They don’t need to fight to survive in real life situations. They don’t need to face the real motor crashing of the playing device.
  • The FPV element that the pilots wear video goggles to watch the quadcopters (first-person view) only aids to crate the race enjoyable and exciting. The spectators have the option to see the race themselves, or they can see what their pilot is doing from the live streaming. It is the most significant difference between drone racing and eSports.
  • In drone racing, you can watch only the performance of your favorite pilots. In Esports, the people watch the video games of the participants by online watching and TV live shows. You can’t focus only on one particular player’s gaming performance in Esports. You need to see the overall playing performance of the different eSports players.
  • In drone racing, the users may need to add fuel and petrol to run the engines. They need to smell the gas and tolerate the severe damage for crashing. You need to face everything in a real-life situation. On the other hand, the Esports players don’t need to do anything like the drone pilots. The done racer needs to fly the drone above the hills, wet surface, and other challenging places. Thus, they need to waterproof the drone motor. The Esports players don’t need to struggle for the practical situation. This is just one of the many differences between the Esports players and the drone racers. The Esports racers start their video gaming from their home. They don’t need to go outside to start the game. Still, the drone racers must start their racing outside of the house. They face many challenging situations to run the aircraft.
  • Before taking part in drone racing, the racers need to apply several steps to fly the drones. They need to make the drones durable enough to prevent crashing. They must waterproof the drones with motors to run over the watery places. Also, they have some restrictions on flying the drones near certain areas. If a drone racer crashes, they will need to pay for their drone, and many damage that their drone does. With Esports players, there is no damage as they are just playing a game online. Drone racers can practice racing every day like Esports players, but drone racers also have to learn a specific course and practice in different conditions. Esports racers need to do nothing in practical life to begin. They only play video games with a virtual gaming tool for entertaining their audience. These are just some of the things that make drone racing different from Esports.
  • Drone racing is a first-person perspective, and the pilot is the controller of the race. Esports are not the first-person perspective-based games. The people watch the game, and the players play the video game on the perspective of multiple leagues and owners. Drone racing is not expensive, like Esports can be, but they both cost money. You need to pay only a few hundred dollars to purchase your drone for racing. You need to buy a controller, glasses, cameras, motors, and others small items to begin your racing drone career. In Esports though, you will need the latest technology in your gaming computer or system, as well as all of the gadgets, and some Esports players even go as far as spending tens of thousands of dollars on equipment to help them win.

Conclusion

Now that you know drone racing is not an Esport, you can see from all of the reasons above exactly why they are so different. One thing you need to remember is that drone racers fly the drones like an aircraft in real-life situations. They sometimes have to face multiple hardships to fly the drones in challenging places. Esports players on the other hand play by staying at home and simply broadcasting their gaming online.

No matter if you prefer to race drones or be a part of Esports, there is always a place for you. Both of these things take tremendous practice to be good at them, and they are not something you can just pick up and be a master at in one day. It takes dedication and determination to fly drones as well as play Esports. Maybe one day drone racing will become an Esport, but for today, it is not.