‘Too Many Koreans’: Esports Biopower and South Korean Gaming Infrastructure

Abstract

This chapter asks why the Overwatch League, a large-scaled global, franchised esports league, that follows a geolocation model fills their teams with South Korean players instead of those who come from the teams' home cities. The example of Overwatch League added to a discussion of esports professionalisation and industry relations by asserting that examining esports in an exclusively regional context is no longer realistic or even sensible in today’s landscape This chapter first introduces the landscape of esports and the significant changes it has undergone in the past decade. Then it uses the concept of 'biopower' advanced by Dyer-Witheford and de Peuter to understand how game developer companies seek to retain control over not only the gaming populace, but also the sport of gaming. Lastly, it illuminates how regionally specific factors, such as local infrastructure, come into play to disrupt that control.