Esports Game Genres Explained: MOBA, FPS, Battle Royale and Fighting Games
Esports game genres explained: what MOBA, FPS, battle royale and fighting games are, and how official rulebooks run and score each one in competition.
Esports games fall into genres, and each genre has its own basic contest. According to the glossary of the British Esports Federation, the UK’s national esports federation, a MOBA pits two teams against each other to destroy the rival base, an FPS is a combat game seen through the player’s own eyes, a battle royale puts many players into one game to fight until one player or team is left, and a fighting game is close combat over several rounds, usually one against one. The sections below give each general definition first, then show how one official rulebook runs that genre in competition.
How to Read This Guide
The competition examples come from rulebooks published by the International Esports Federation (IESF) or by a game publisher. Each describes one event, so treat its numbers as a worked example, not as fixed rules for the whole genre.
MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena)
What it is
The British Esports Federation glossary describes a MOBA as an online strategy game in which two teams, usually of five, face each other on a map. Each team tries to destroy the other’s main structure or base before losing its own, and every player controls a single character with its own special abilities.
In competition
In the IESF world championship rulebook for a mobile MOBA cited here, every game starts with five players on each side. A team may bring at most five players and one coach. A team wins by destroying the opposing base, and a game also ends if one side surrenders.
The draft phase
Before each game, teams go through a draft phase in which they choose their heroes and ban others. That rulebook’s lobby settings include five bans, and any hero that is new or has just been updated is banned automatically for two weeks. If a team locks in the wrong hero or ban, it has three seconds to tell the referee, and only before the other team makes its next selection.
Sides and official games
In the group stage, a referee’s coin flip settles side choice for the first game, and after that the team that lost the previous game chooses its side. The rulebook also defines a “Game of Record”: once all ten players have loaded and the teams have clearly interacted, or the clock reaches two minutes, the game counts and can no longer simply be restarted.
Format and tiebreakers
That event split teams into four groups of four, playing best-of-three series. The top two in each group reached a knockout bracket, and the medal matches were best of five. Group ties were settled by head-to-head results, then game difference, then the shorter average length of wins, then kill-to-death ratio, and finally an extra match.
FPS (First-Person Shooter)
What it is
In the federation’s glossary, an FPS is a combat game played from a first-person viewpoint. Players win by shooting opponents, completing objectives or holding areas of the map.
In competition
In the IESF regional qualifier rulebook for a tactical shooter cited here, every match starts five against five. A full squad can include no more than seven people, counting the five players, substitutes and a coach. If a player drops out and cannot return, the team may continue with four, but with fewer than four the opponent receives the win.
Rounds and maps
Each map is played over at most 24 regulation rounds, with each round lasting one minute and fifty-five seconds. If the score is level after regulation, overtime is played as a best of six rounds, and teams swap sides at half-time within each overtime. The settings also include a 40-second bomb timer.
Map selection
Before a best-of-three series, the two teams take turns removing and choosing maps from the seven-map pool listed in that rulebook, following a fixed order. If the series reaches a deciding map, a knife round settles which side each team starts on.
Timeouts
Each team gets four tactical timeouts per map, each lasting 30 seconds, and technical breaks are limited to 15 minutes.
Battle Royale
What it is
The glossary defines a battle royale as an online game where many players play at once, each trying to knock out every rival and be the last player or team left. The active play area, called the circle, shrinks as the game goes on and pushes everyone closer together.
In competition
In one publisher’s official competition rulebook for a mobile battle royale, each team keeps four players in its starting lineup and may add up to two substitutes, for a maximum of six. Matches are played only on handheld phones, and emulators on a computer are not allowed.
How that rulebook scores games
Because many teams share each game, that rulebook ranks them with points for finishing position plus points for eliminations. The winning team earns 10 placement points, second place 6, third 5, fourth 4, fifth 3, sixth 2, seventh and eighth 1, and ninth through sixteenth none. Every elimination adds 1 point.
Tiebreakers
If two teams finish level, the rulebook looks first at how many games each team won, then at total placement points, then at total eliminations, and finally at placement in the most recent match.
Fighting Games
What it is
According to the glossary, fighting games are close-combat games played over a number of rounds. Characters fight each other directly, most often one against one, although some games use two-a-side or three-a-side formats, until one side is beaten or the time runs out.
In competition
The fighting game rules attached to one set of IESF world championship regulations describe an individual event played on a console. Each game consists of five rounds, and each round has a 60-second timer. If the timer runs out, the player with more health remaining takes the round.
Character selection
Under those rules, both players choose their characters blind, so neither knows the other’s choice in advance. After each game, the player who lost may change character.
Format, equipment and coaching
Group matches were best of three, quarterfinals best of seven, and matches from the semifinals on were best of nine. Standard fight sticks and controllers were permitted, but macro functions such as turbo buttons were not. Each player could name one coach and speak with them for up to one minute between games. A player who paused the game, whether on purpose or by accident, lost the current round.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does MOBA stand for?
MOBA stands for multiplayer online battle arena. In the IESF rulebook cited here, two teams of five compete, and a team wins by destroying the opposing base.
How are battle royale matches scored?
In the publisher rulebook cited here, teams receive points for their finishing position in each game plus 1 point per elimination, and the points are added up to rank the teams.
Are fighting games played in teams?
In the IESF fighting game rules cited here, the event was an individual competition, although each player could name one coach to consult between games.
