Player power: Networked careers in esports and high-performance game livestreaming practices

Abstract

In this article, we explore the ongoing negotiations and tensions involved in creating high-performance play and livestreaming practices, produced through assemblages of creative networked actions between individuals, institutions, infrastructures and communities. From speedrunning communities to esports leagues, expert game cultures offer key cases to explore the conventions of expert gameplay, the politics of digital play itself and the formation of networked careers. These include performances (on/off screen, by players and spectators), ownership/governance (of the game, of third-party organizations and products), and the expressions of player rights. Specifically, via two case studies, we look at how two veteran franchises – Valve Corporation’s Counter-Strike and Nintendo’s Super Mario – have engaged with the moving foundations and expressions of co-creation practices made by those engaged in high-performance networked careers of play.