Archives for October 2019

October
30, 2019

10 min read

This story originally appeared on Business Insider

In 2016, the empire that Elon Musk built to conquer Earth and space was in peril, but Musk stepped in with a potentially illegal plot to save it all and stick Tesla shareholders with the bill, shareholders argue in a lawsuit filed against Tesla. 

The lawsuit, originally filed in 2016, claims Tesla’s 2016 acquisition of SolarCity — which saddled Tesla with billions of dollars in debt and liabilities — was a breach of fiduciary duty on the part of Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk and the company’s board of directors. The plaintiffs also claim that Musk and other members of the board did all of this in order to enrich themselves and save SolarCity while hiding the company’s desperate financial condition. They were major shareholders, and SolarCity was helmed by Musk’s cousin Lyndon Rive.

Musk’s lawyers have argued that he didn’t really control the process for buying SolarCity since he didn’t vote on the deal, and that the stockholders who voted on the deal were fully informed of what was going on at the two companies. Tesla did not respond to multiple requests for comment on this matter.

On Thursday, a bunch of the lawsuit’s filings became public, including depositions with Musk, Tesla’s then-CFO Jason Wheeler and more players in the deal. The data dump also includes things like minutes of Tesla’s board of directors meetings, internal emails and presentations that the bankers advising the deal gave outlining issues with SolarCity and the potential for synergy between the two companies.

According to these documents, the merger that Musk called a “no-brainer” appeared to be anything but. No other company was bidding to buy SolarCity — which at the time was helmed by Musk’s cousin, Lyndon Rive — and according to internal emails, it was also struggling to find financing for a $200 million bridge loan that it needed immediately.

“They claim other banks want into the SolarCity bridge,” said Bank of America’s Ray Wood in one July 2016 internal email, “but we have no visibility … the reality of the problem is dawning on Elon.” (Tesla announced its intention to do SolarCity the deal in June).

Here’s why things were looking so bad for SolarCity: In order to maintain the terms of its revolver, the company had to have $116 million in cash on hand at the end of the month every month. But as early as September 2015 there was an awareness that the company was going through a cash crisis, with its balance dropping to as low as $35 million in November, according to internal emails. At the same time, SolarCity also had a ton of capital expenditures, most critically at its Buffalo plant where it had to spend a certain amount or pay the state of New York over $600 million. 

By July 2016, after the deal was announced, the situation appeared more desperate. In one email to an unnamed person on July 9, Rive describes the company as “super low on cash” and said that he was worried about the “domino effect” if the company did not get the money it needs. 

Musk was also very aware of the cash situation before the acquisition. In an email dated Sept. 18, 2016, Musk sent a message to Brad Buss, the former finance chief at SolarCity, in which he said that one of the things SolarCity needs to do to persuade investors about a merger with Tesla was to solve the solar company’s liquidity crisis. 

Dominos

SolarCity’s problems didn’t just matter to Musk because he was a shareholder and a board member of SolarCity, it mattered because the company’s fate was tied to SpaceX, a piece of his empire, according to the lawsuit.

Space X, Musk’s rocket company, had given SolarCity $165 million at the beginning of 2015, according to internal SolarCity emails filed as part of the lawsuit, and it was holding 77 percent of SolarCity’s bonds. In short, if SolarCity went down, it could take SpaceX with it. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on the state of SolarCity’s finances at the time.

None of SolarCity’s problems had anything to do with Tesla shareholders, though. Aside from Musk, his brother Kimball and a few members of the board of directors who owned SolarCity stock, Tesla shareholders only had to worry about making cars. That’s why inside of Tesla the board of directors and the c-suite knew it could be an uphill battle to get shareholders to approve the deal. Board members were tasked with personally reaching out to individuals from big time shareholders like Fidelity to sway them, according to emails. 

But that didn’t seem like it was working by the fall of 2016, according to documents included in the lawsuit. Major investors like T-Rowe Price were still not backing the deal. 

In an internal email dated September 14, 2016, Todd Maron, Tesla’s former general counsel, described a conversation he had with T-Rowe Price about their doubts regarding the deal.

“They (T-Rowe) said what Tesla is trying to accomplish in the automotive space is very complex and to add SolarCity to the mix raises the operational and financial risk profile of the company, especially given SolarCity’s financial challenges as a company,” Maron said in the email. 

So Musk gave them and other doubtful shareholders a reason to get onboard.

In late October 2016, Musk hosted a massive show on a Hollywood TV set, unveiling a product that didn’t yet exist — Tesla’s solar roof tile.

“Latest feedback from major investors is very negative on SolarCity,” he said in an email to Peter Rive on September 16, 2016.  “We need to show them what the integrated product looks like. They just don’t get it. Needs to happen before the vote, so maybe aim for October 28th for a joint solar roof and Powerwall 2 unveiling.”

Tesla’s then Chief Technical Officer JB Straubel was also included on this email. Tesla did not respond to Business Insider‘s request for comment on its contents.

After seeing the solar tile, Tesla shareholders approved the deal in November.

A lot to lose, a lot to gain

Inside of SolarCity as early as the fall of 2015 there was an acknowledgment that 2016 would not be kind to the company’s business model. In an email to the company’s c-suite Tanguy Serra, SolarCity’s then-president laid it out pretty clearly. 

“Next year we are facing Silveo [SolarCity’s manufacturing plant], more commercial mix — so on a like for like basis it won’t be better,” he wrote. 

That is part of why in June of 2016, the time of this deal’s announcement, Wall Street was scratching its head trying to understand exactly how it would do Tesla any good.

“… We are struggling to see brand, customer, channel, product or technology synergies,” analysts at JP Morgan wrote at the time. “We do acknowledge that the acquirer’s easy access to capital markets might provide a low cost of capital option … but we don’t see another cost synergies that weren’t already available to SolarCity via the close partnership.”

This quote was included in a presentation Evercore gave to Tesla’s board of directors in July.

The board was not yet sold then in part because there were still a lot of questions about how much SolarCity would cost. According to emails between Evercore bankers and Tesla, filed as part of the lawsuit, Evercore founder Roger Altman said Tesla was pricing too generously and in one July 2nd email said directly: “Tesla shareholders might not like this.” Meanwhile, Tesla’s board of directors wanted to see if there would be any other bidders for SolarCity. But there were none.

By October 2016, though, Tesla’s board was singing a different tune. In one October presentation by Tesla to proxy firms included in the lawsuit, it claimed that the deal would create $150 million worth of direct cost-saving synergies within the first year of the acquisition.

Five Tesla board members had a clear financial interest in getting this deal past the finish line, the lawsuit claims. Not only did they stand to lose a lot if SolarCity went under, but they had a lot to gain if it was saved at a premium (as it was), the suit claims. 

From the filings:

Tesla investor lawsuit

In 2015 and 2016 Kimball Musk used his SolarCity shares as collateral on his personal loans, according to his deposition. If SolarCity had gone bust this would be a problem for him. But he testified that his personal loans had nothing to do with his support for the deal to have Tesla acquire SolarCity.

Lawyers for the defendants argued, according to the filing, that personal issues like this didn’t pose any kind of conflict of interest because the defendants are so rich. 

Raise the roof

According to multiple depositions, the solar roof tile that Musk presented in order to wow Tesla’s shareholders wasn’t actually a working product when it was unveiled. In Wheeler’s deposition, he was asked about that directly, and it went something like this:

Q: So I get a sense of timing — I know you knew it [solar roof tile] was a future nascent product by the time it was incorporated. Were you of that view before the merger agreement was signed, that … there was no real project to model.

A: Yes, I think before it [the acquisition deal] was signed that’s what I was thinking. 

In his deposition, SolarCity’s President of Global Sales, Tobey Corey, said that the roof Tesla unveiled in its presentation was not connected to a grid of any kind while it was being presented. He also said he couldn’t remember if Tesla ever sold a roof either.

“I don’t recall selling any,” he said, though he said he recalled that some roof tiles were being installed after the presentation.

“More than five,” asked the attorney questioning him.

“I honestly couldn’t tell you,” Corey responded. “It wasn’t a lot but I recall hearing of installations that were occurring. I know that Elon got his system installed … I believe there were others I don’t remember the exact number.” 

Tesla did not respond to Business Insider‘s request for comment on Corey’s deposition, on how many solar roof tiles have been sold, or on how many have been installed since the presentation.

You can place an order for version three from Tesla’s website if you want, but as Bethanny McLean reported in Vanity Fair last month, some people have done that before only to have their deposits sit at Tesla as their roofs never materialized.

Last Friday, a day after the documents related to this lawsuit went public, Tesla held a phone call announcing that it had developed a version three of the product that would work beautifully. The call, however, was light on details and it was not a live event like the unveiling of the first solar roof tile. No Hollywood set. Tesla did not respond to Business Insider‘s request for comment on whether or not the product was ready for use.

October
28, 2019

4 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Entrepreneurship is a team sport. It is simply too complex to do on your own and expect to succeed. People who attempt to be “solopreneurs” find themselves juggling tasks as varied as sales, administration, IT and client-delivery. No earthly person could be excellent at all of these tasks, and often they become mediocre at all of them. 

The greatest entrepreneurs know this all too well, and their primary goal is to enroll talented people onto their team. That’s why there is a plethora of quotes from the most famous entrepreneurs extolling the virtues of teams: 

“By putting the employee first, the customer effectively comes first by default, and in the end, the shareholder comes first by default as well.” — Richard Branson

“None of us is as smart as all of us.” — Ken Blanchard

“No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you’re playing a solo game, you’ll always lose out to a team.” — Reid Hoffman

Related: 3 Ways the Army Prepared Me for Entrepreneurship

When it comes to managing teams and getting people to perform at their best, entrepreneurs can learn a lot from the British Army, which has almost 400 years of history to draw from and a personnel system designed to scale up and scale back teams quickly. Here are some examples of how the British Army organizes its troops.

Scout Team: Typically a two-person team designed to make an assessment of an opportunity or a threat. These two people can be of equal rank or consist of a senior and junior member. 

Fire Team: A four-person team addressing an urgent problem with short-term objectives. There is typically a corporal with three privates. 

Section: An eight-person team carrying out day-to-day duties. This normally consists of a corporal and a lance corporal managing six privates. 

Platoon: Normally three-to-five sections with commanding officers and platoon headquarters. A lieutenant and second lieutenant are typically in command and are supported by the section commanders.

Entrepreneurs can use a similar plan when scaling up their organizations. Here’s how the same team-building principles might apply to your business.

Founders: This could be two co-founders or a founder with one person supporting. The purpose is to identify an opportunity and prove a concept. 

Small-Boutique: This team of four should focus on short-term objectives, such as a launch campaign or hitting a 90-day target. 

Boutique: This eight-person team can establish a routine and generate a consistent stream of business. The founder and an assistant manager work together to organize smooth operations.   

Performance Team: This team of 35-plus people consists of an executive team that oversees the operations of three-to-five sub-teams. For example, an executive team of four might lead sub-teams that are each focused on different products or markets. 

Related: 7 Things the Army Taught Me About Running a Company

Over the past 400 years, the British Army has faced every challenge imaginable and has had the opportunity to test various ways of organizing people into teams. It’s found team sizes and structures that work. The Army never sends one person on their own to do anything. Notably, there’s no solo missions going on, and this should be a lesson to entrepreneurs trying to do everything on their own. For normal day-to-day operations, the Army is built upon teams of eight people, or sections. This is worth noting for leaders who think they can single-handedly run big groups of people. When it comes to scaling up your team, you can learn a lot from people in uniform. 

 

October
20, 2019

15 min read

This story originally appeared on Authority Magazine

The movement to achieve equal opportunities for women has made incredible progress. But even in 2019 women reportedly still earn about 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. On Women’s Equality Day, 8/26, Authority Magazine launched a series called “5 Things We Need To Do To Close The Gender Wage Gap.”

In this series, scores of prominent women leaders shared their insights about necessary steps to narrow and eventually close the gender wage gap. Here are some highlights. 

These interviews have been edited for length and clarity. 

Shanna Hocking (Associate Vice President at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia)

Gail Becker (CEO of CAULIPOWER)

Angela Peacock (Founder of PDT Global)

1. I would absolutely change the way we speak to our children. Right from the get-go, we need to be telling both genders that they can do anything they want to. We will not solve the bias that sits behind the gender pay gap if we continue to raise individuals from young ages who have sweeping and absolutely not valid biases from one gender against the other.
2. We need to challenge the unfounded gender biases such as benevolent bias — the bias of kindness, where I choose to make a decision about your career without ever consulting you. It happens to men when they are making decisions about the careers of women but interestingly it also happens to women when they are making decisions about the careers of other women. This is because we carry the same unconscious programming, we carry effectively the same biases together and this particular one comes out in mysterious ways! The most obvious one is in maternity returners where we perhaps would make an assumption not to send that woman to an area on a project that would take her away from her family. Or not to offer her a project that would mean working late into the night, to assume that she will no longer be mobile because she has a family. Or the most deadly one — to make an assumption that she will most definitely have more time off than anyone else. Until we get to a place where we are making those same assumptions about men who have recently become parents, we are nowhere near being able to alter the assumptions about that stage of a woman’s career that can absolutely destroy her earning capability and so contribute to the gender pay gap. It’s interesting when you look at the background to benevolent bias and it does seem to stem from our early years — what we saw, whether our mothers worked or not, and indeed the deep programming that a lot of people like me over 50 got from Disney cartoons and the like. 
3. The other area of gender bias that I think we should be talking about a lot more broadly is intersectional bias. We know that the IWPRS report on sex and race discrimination in combination in the U.S. states quite clearly that we know that discrimination in pay, hiring and promotions has a significant impact on all of the wage gaps that we are seeing. But we also know that very specifically for Hispanic women and African-American women the gap is even bigger. When we look at intersectional bias, it’s an interesting thing to see. We sometimes make assumptions when we hear the word bias, that it’s about one specific thing: “I have a bias about women in the workplace.” I don’t believe that it is that. When organizations hire at graduate level, very often it is 50/50. This decreases the higher they climb — intersectional bias comes into play at higher levels. So I can see a woman doing an associate role in a law firm, but I can’t actually envisage her being a partner. The bias comes in when we sit in front of a promotion panel and goes back to our early programming of “what a leader looks like.”
4. As a society, we need to ensure people are incentivized to drive the inclusion change that will lead to the pay gap closing. So all managers, for example, should be made accountable for driving the change. Targets around promoting greater numbers of females or insisting on a more balanced slate when recruiting are essential. But more essential still is offering a dynamic and measurable system that is linked to performance — where managers have to have made some practical things happen in order to drive the right environment for all people to flourish. We need to start aligning inclusion to the things that matter to people — salary, bonus and promotions.
5. In some U.S. states — including California and Massachusetts — employers are not allowed to ask job applicants how much they previously earned. Similar measures are under consideration in a number of other states. These laws to stop “previous salary” questions can help break the cycle of gender pay disparity by removing the link between historic inequalities and pay negotiations. In 2017, when the law was announced in New York, the chair of the NYC Commission on Human Rights, Carmelyn P. Malalis, said it was designed to “break the cycle of income inequality” and put an end to women and people of color being “held back by their current or previous salary.” It’s interesting that we still shy away in general from conversations about wages. Perhaps if we weren’t so polite, we would have women asking men about what they earn and, better still, men asking women — and supporting them to take it up with their employer. Now that would be something!

Cate Luzio (CEO of Luminary)

1. There is a serious talent pipeline problem across all industries. If over half of all new hires are women, we should see stronger diversity at all levels and in leadership. We won’t close the wage gap or reach gender parity if we don’t promote women early and often — and on potential, not just performance. It’s critical to invest in women throughout their careers to make sure that we don’t lose them mid-career.
2. No one cares about your career more than you. Raise your hand for growth assignments, go for that raise and know your number. It’s important to know the value of your work to ask for what you deserve. It’s okay to talk about salaries with your friends, mentors, and peers so that you have a range to benchmark against. If you don’t get a raise, don’t give up, ask for feedback and set a timeline to ask again. 

Julia Shapiro (CEO of Hire an Esquire)

1. Policy: Well-crafted, enforceable equal pay policies are shown to strengthen the economy and society. Also parental leaves need to be equal for parents. Not only are many families dependent on two incomes with fathers taking on increasing parental responsibilities, parental leave policies that aren’t equal prove further detrimental to women in their career trajectory.
2. Use of structured hiring processes: These have been proven to decrease bias and improve outcomes. I’m encouraged by the developments I see here. These changes are performance-driven to get the best talent and outcomes in an increasingly transient and competitive talent market, reducing bias is a side effect.
3. Rethinking the early narratives we have about boys and girls: Letting children develop who they are as people and being careful not to provide unconscious nudges towards gender stereotypes. Personality traits are shown to be evenly distributed across populations and children begin to become “gendered” based on social cues and this actually has an impact on career choices and earning potential. One small example is that children show no preference for gendered toys before gender is reinforced. Girls receive toys such as dolls that promote skills like empathy. Boys receive blocks and building toys that promote spatial, logic, and problem solving skills, which are conducive to success in STEM careers and standardized tests.
4. Change the narrative that rights and wages are a zero sum game: Greater workforce participation tends to overall expand the opportunities and economy for everyone. We’ve seen this in the US both with immigration as well as with women increasing their participation in the workforce. The same is true of other rights and protections. Women, men, and people of various ethnic origins aren’t in a fight over a limited amount of jobs, payroll dollars or rights, everyone working together has an exponential effect and everyone can walk away with more.
5. Stop the narrative that women need more “flexibility” and balance: This implies women are giving their work less gravitas than their male colleagues and as studies discussed above show, this isn’t true. Instead the false expectation that women are less committed is what’s hurting their advancement. We need to stop using this as a cop out on why women make less money and are less represented in leadership since it is not only false but further contributes to this false narrative and resulting unconscious bias.

Grace Atwood (Co-Host of Bad on Paper Podcast and Founder of The Stripe)

1. I would say that it’s so important that women advocate for each other and openly discuss money with their peers, male and female. I remember early in my career discovering that my male coworker was being paid considerably more than I was and using this information to leverage a raise. There’s definitely a stigma associated with talking about money, but those uncomfortable conversations will help you negotiate better. 

2. Negotiate. It’s shocking how many women will accept an initial offer and not ask for more money. Something I’ve learned from my co-host Becca Freeman is that a lot of the time, the hiring manager has a bigger budget and actually expects you to negotiate. This revelation really stuck with me and is so simple but incredibly powerful. We’ve since had countless listeners tell us that after listening to that episode they were able to negotiate a raise. 

Dr. Tana M. Session (Organizational Development Strategist and Consultant)

1. Own your worth. Women must become comfortable negotiating for higher starting salaries and annual increases based on reliable market data and research. Start talking finances with other men and women, and share resources and information on salary ranges in your industry. Information is power.
2. Whenever possible, do not disclose your current salary to a new employer during the interview or salary negotiation process. If you are currently underpaid, your new employer may offer you a lower salary than they budgeted for the position because their lowest offer may still be a significant increase over your current salary. There are several states who have made it illegal for employers to ask about current salary prior to making an offer to help decrease the wage gap for women and minorities.
3. Women should raise their hands for new and bigger projects to gain leadership experience and exposure to decision-makers. This will take some strategic self-promotion skills, but it is necessary to help elevate your career and your salary. Also, actively seek out promotions or new positions even if you do not have all of the listed requirements for the job. Men do it all the time.
4. Organizations should conduct regularly salary audits for all positions and compare female employees’ salaries against their male counterparts who are in the same job with the same or comparable responsibilities, experience and education. The numbers don’t lie. Put a plan in place to bring women’s salaries in alignment with their male counterparts, even if the increases have to be incremental over a six- to 12-month period. Openly sharing the salary audit results and adjustment plan with employees will help boost employee engagement while holding the organization accountable along the way.
5. Organizations should regularly review the diversity, equality and inclusion of their leadership teams to ensure they are hiring and promoting the best person for the job. Also, review market data to ensure salary ranges are meeting local job market demands. This is a good time to make internal salary adjustments to current staff’s salaries to ensure internal equity and to help all employees remain competitive with the external job market.

Kaiwen Wan (CEO of Palapod)

1. Men need to take up the cause. It should not simply be seen as a women’s issue but a human issue.
2. Women need to create a global movement on the scale of #MeToo because wage inequality is a massive issue throughout the world. One of the things that brings the U.S. and China together in this time of tense relations, for instance, is the fact that both have yawning gaps in wages between men and women. If the men of both countries wish to fight each other, so be it — but I think women can come together.
3. We need political candidates to bring the issue to the forefront. This election season in the U.S. is better because we have plenty of female candidates, but personally, I also strongly support Andrew Yang because his “freedom dividend” would bring monetary compensation for the unpaid work predominantly done by women in our society, such as childcare.
4. We need more people to study the wage gap. When was the last time you heard of someone who double-majored in gender studies and economics, for instance.
5. We need more female entrepreneurs! That’s part of the reason I’m building Palapod because women need to know they can build something, and not simply within the tech bubble either — it’s a whole society movement. The other reason it’s great to have female entrepreneurs is that female entrepreneurs are also female bosses, and female bosses likely aren’t going to pay women less.

Elizabeth Pearson (Executive Career Coach)

1. Sustained action from businesses: Equal paternity leave for new dads so they can carry more childcare weight and free-up moms to go back to work.
2. Government support: Affordable childcare for new and single mothers is critical to ensuring women return to the workforce.
3. Awareness of biases: Companies will need to take a good look in the mirror, and at their payroll, to see if there may be underlying biases and sexism happening within their organizations.
4. Women becoming skilled negotiators: The more confident and assertive women present themselves, the easier it will be to ask for what they need — and the less they’ll care about being “unlikable” to their boss.
5. Parents overriding socialized norms for girls to be people pleasers and nurturing: When we empower our youth to see girls as equals, we raise men and women who expect to pay women at the same level as men.

Rona Borre (CEO of Instant Alliance)

1. I think the gender wage gap is caused by a combination of factors, the largest of them being institutionalized gender discrimination. Put simply, women have been paid less than men for years, and changing this standard will not happen overnight. I still can’t believe that it was less than 100 years ago that women earned the right to vote in our country, but that’s the way it is. Women have traditionally been seen as mothers first and breadwinners second, and even in modern-day America, this underlying perception of our roles in society persists. So we’re held up against this standard of being able to raise children while simultaneously excelling at the office. I don’t mean to blame all of this on men, either. We women hold ourselves and each other to extremely high standards, and we’re really hard on one another. If we’re too focused on our careers, we’re bad mothers and wives. If we’re too focused on raising our families, we aren’t putting enough effort in at work. And I think we hold ourselves back sometimes too. Whether we don’t think we’re good enough for the promotion we want, or we don’t think we’re qualified to be managing men, we sell ourselves short and actually get in our own way.

2. I would challenge women first to start pursuing the jobs that they are passionate about, whether or not those jobs fall within traditionally male-dominated fields. I started in the tech world at a young age and worked really hard to get to where I am today, but I realize how intimidating those industries can be. Success in these fields for women isn’t impossible, but I think too many of us women assume it won’t be worth the hard work. We think that we won’t be considered for a role because of our gender or will be immediately out-qualified by the men in the room. This is evident in the fact that women only apply for jobs they are 100 percent qualified for, while men apply for jobs even if they only meet 60 percent of the required skills. We need to start giving ourselves more credit and demanding the respect and job recognition that we deserve.

3. We need to support one another. We need to make sure both men and women alike are supporting women in their endeavors in these traditionally male fields. That being said, if we’re going to ask that men respect us in our careers, we need to make sure we as women as giving each other that support and respect as well. I see way too many situations in which women are tearing each other down, and it is so frustrating. We’re all up against the same obstacles, and the last thing we need is to add further challenges for our female counterparts.

October
18, 2019

12 min read

This story originally appeared on PCMag

If your parents ever disparaged your video game obsession as a huge waste of time, they’re either a) out of touch or b) lacking in vision.

That may sound overly harsh, but there’s some truth in my take. Esports, the video game industry’s competitive arm, has amassed huge audiences, incredible cash pots, and sponsorships that enable elite gamers to transform their passions into careers. In fact, research firm Newzoo estimates that esports will generate $1.79 billion per year by 2022.

The esports business

Of course, esports are more than purely capitalistic ventures. Though gamers dig the idea of standing on stage holding oversized checks, the true reason for traveling to tournaments around the globe is to prove they’re the best in their titles of choice.

Esports comprise many games, both popular and under the radar, in numerous genres. You like shooters? You can pop some caps in a rival playing Counter-Strike: Global: Offensive. In the mood for a battle royale of epic proportions? PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has got you covered. Into sports? In a merging of the two worlds, the NBA and Take-Two Interactive — publisher of the super-popular NBA 2K video game series — partnered to create the NBA 2K eLeague. In the esports world, there’s a video game, and related scene, for everyone.

Maybe there’s too much choice. There are so many video games on the market with a competitive, multiplayer focus that getting started in playing, or simply watching, professional video gaming may prove intimidating. Fortunately, this guide to the best esports games is designed to gently nudge you in the right direction. After all, every game going after that sweet esports money isn’t worth your time. And there are a whole lot of those.

Related: 3 Surprising Ways That Video Game Companies Leverage AI

The esports criteria

This guide contains several esports-worthy titles that PCMag’s staff has reviewed and wholeheartedly recommends playing. In fact, many of the titles that we suggest checking out also live in our best PC games roundup, though we also toss a bone or two to console players.

To be considered for inclusion in this guide, a game simply has to have official tournament support from its publisher. Though we love many of the smaller, community-backed efforts, such as the incredible Tecmo Super Bowl community, we had to create a cut-off point, lest damn near every competitive game be deemed worthy.

So, that’s that. If there’s a notable esports game that’s not listed below, that means we either didn’t review it yet or score it well enough to make the cut. What you’ll find below, however, are some of the best esports games played by amateurs and professionals in 2018 — and likely beyond. Dig in. And, more importantly, have fun playing.

Counter-Strike Global Offensive

Valve’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) debuted in 2012, backed by a strong heritage of multiplayer FPS titles, including the original Counter-Strike and Counter-Strike: Source. Years later, the fast-paced PC game still mostly holds its own against more modern titles, partly because of its established core gameplay and active community.

Visually, however, CS: GO is starting to show its age, and it’s not as thematically rich as Overwatch. Still, many folks enjoy CS: GO’s no-frills experience and its highly competitive esports circuit, which includes the Eleague Major, a competition with a $1 million prize.

Dota 2

“Easy to learn, hard to master.” This phrase is used to describe many things, especially in gaming. Few titles exemplify that mantra more than Defense of the Ancients 2 (Dota 2), one of the most popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games on the planet.

This free-to-play MOBA tasks you with selecting one of more than 100 playable Heroes to take to the battlefield, utilizing that character’s unique abilities, play style, and attributes to help your team achieve victory.

Sure, the MOBA genre proves inscrutable to viewers who are unfamiliar with the play mechanics, but the annual Dota 2 International has insane cash pots (more than $30 million!) and stiff competition that makes the game an esport worth watching if you’re willing to learn the ropes.

Dragon Ball FighterZ

Beside Fist of the Northstar and Jo Jo’s Bizarre Adventure, there are few anime properties as intrinsically suited to the fighting game treatment as the Dragon Ball series. Spanning multiple series, movies, and generations of characters, Akira Toriyama’s manga-turned-anime-turned-game series is all about buff monkey men, humans, aliens, and androids trading blows in actual earth-shattering battles.

The series’ latest video game adaptation, Dragon Ball FighterZ, ditches the Xenoverse games’ arena-brawling model in favor of 3 vs. 3 tag-team fighting on a 2D plane. The gameplay shift is just one of the many reasons Dragon Ball FighterZ is being held aloft as one of the most intriguing esports titles. Its beautiful design, intense combat, and accessible control scheme add up to a game that anyone can jump into for Super Saiyan thrills.

Besides appearing at Evo, the anime fighter has an expanded competitive scene courtesy of Bandai Namco’s Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour.

Fortnite

Fortnite is the battle-royale game to beat. In fact, Epic Games confirmed in early 2019 that Fortnite hosted 7.6 million concurrent players in one record-breaking session. This notably beats Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) highest-ever player count recorded on Steam, which topped out at just more than 3 million players. Fortnite’s popularity is off the charts.

Fortnite has a lot going for it, including approachable gameplay modes, bright and zany graphics, and an excellent construction system. Iffy combat and the presence of microtransactions detracts from the experience, but, as it is a free-to-play game, fans of the genre should still give it a shot. The title is on virtually every platform that plays video games.

2019’s inaugural Fortnite World Cup saw 16-year-old Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf take home $3 million from a $30 million prize pool.

The King of Fighters XIV

SNK’s latest entry in the long-running The King of Fighters series ain’t the prettiest fighter in town, and the title doesn’t consistently headline Evo, but it’s one of the best competitive fighting games on the market.

KOFXIV’s deep combo system, team-based action, massive 58-person roster, varied special attacks, supers, and offensive, defensive, and movement options combine to form a spectator game that’s as thrilling to watch as fighters with higher profiles. To be fair, those same qualities make KOFXIV a somewhat intimidating game to master, but should you put in the work, the rewards are immensely satisfying.

Even though KOFXIV isn’t a main Evo game, it’s supported by the SNK World Championship series.

League of Legends

League of Legends, Riot Games’ free-to-play, multiplayer online battle arena title is, simply put, the best MOBA game you can buy. Its gameplay incorporates elements of role playing, tower defense, and real-time strategy — a combination that differentiates it from the many cookie cutter MOBAs that have flooded the market.

League of Legends’ accessibility is one of its highlights, but that does not mean it lacks complex core gameplay elements. The way skillshots, cooldowns, unique abilities, and equipment work in tandem makes League of Legends the face of MOBA gaming, outclassing the likes of Dota 2 and Heroes of the Storm.

In terms of esports, Riot Games supports the title via the League of Legends Championship Series. The tournament boasts a prize pool of more than $2 million.

Mortal Kombat 11

Mortal Kombat 11, developer NetherRealm Studios’ newest fighting game, is far more than the cracked skulls, severed spines, and blood spurts on which the series built its fame. The narrative sequel to Mortal Kombat X, Mortal Kombat 11 uses time travel to pit characters against their rivals in the past in order to alter the present.

Thanks to animation improvements and new offensive and defensive mechanics, the mercs, ninjas, gods, and monsters play better than ever. As a result, Mortal Kombat 11 is an excellent entry point for people unfamiliar with the series (or those who’ve lapsed).

NetherRealm Studios supports Mortal Kombat 11 via its Mortal Kombat Pro Series esports initiative.

Related: To Win in the Billion-Dollar eSports Industry, This Innovator Turned to Tech Used by Navy SEALs

Overwatch

Shooters don’t always have to be dark, gritty, or realistic. Cartoony fun has its place, even in gun-filled PC games. That place has been filled by Valve’s Team Fortress 2 for nearly a decade, but now Blizzard’s taken the reigns with Overwatch. It takes all of Team Fortress 2’s hallmarks, such as colorful levels, multiple game modes that focus on teams attacking and defending, and cool characters with vastly different play styles, and adds a few MOBA-like twists.

Overwatch is a thoroughly enjoyable first-person shooter that’s filled with mechanical variety, thanks to the game’s many heroes and classes. As you might expect, it has developed a highly successful esports scene. Blizzard supports the Overwatch competitive scene with several esports initiatives, including the Overwatch World Cup.

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG)

Like many other games in the open-world survival or first-person shooter genres, the primary goal of PUBG is to be the last player alive. However, PUBG doesn’t adhere to the genre norms. It takes some of the best aspects of open world games, combines it with the mechanics of a good first-person shooter, and accommodates a player base typical of MMOs.

There’s also a good balance of gameplay elements. For example, you get to choose where to parachute down on the map, everyone starts without a weapon, and there’s a deadly and giant shimmering blue dome that reduces the playable area every so often. It’s tense, but extremely entertaining.

The PUBG Global Invitational has a prize pool of more than $2 million.

Rocket League

2015’s out-of-nowhere hit, a game that still dominates Steam sales charts, is one of the few sports games not associated with a real-life league that receives massive esports love.

Rocket League, with its fast car-based game play, explosive hits, and thrilling shots on goal is a raw thrill, especially when it’s played by professionals. Seriously, if you thought your last-second score was impressive, wait until you see someone with supreme skills drive up a wall, flip off it, and score from center field.

The Rocket League Championship Series is where you’ll find the world’s best players pulling off incredible maneuvers. The most recent competition featured a $1 million prize pool.

Samurai Shodown

The original Samurai Shodown found an audience back in the 1990s thanks to its unique weapon-based bouts, feudal Japanese setting, and bloody flourishes. Still, it was a tough fighting game for some people to pick up due to the methodical combat and shocking damage scaling; characters hit brutally hard, so a few simple mistakes could cost you the match and your quarter.

Despite no new series entries in more than a decade, developer SNK rebooted Samurai Shodown, preserving many of the classic gameplay mechanics that made the original games so memorable.

Samurai Shodown became an Evo game in its first year (2019), and is also supported by the SNK World Championship series.

StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void

What’s a real-time strategy (RTS) title to do in a gaming landscape packed with MOBAs? If you’re talking StarCraft Il, the answer is simple: continue to offer best-in-class gameplay and multi-million-dollar cash prizes in the StarCraft II World Championship Series.

The StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void expansion has the military strategy that die-hards adore, while simultaneously serving as a fantastic conclusion to Blizzard’s five-year saga. It’s truly one of the most satisfying strategy games ever made, though novice RTS viewers may not appreciate all the complexities on display during high-level play.

The Global StarCraft II League has a prize pool topping a half million dollars at the time of this writing.

Street Fighter V

Street Fighter V, despite its rocky start and DLC shenanigans, may very well be the most accessible esports title for people who don’t identify as gamers.

The simple premise of two people punching themselves unconscious is one that’s damn near universal. The idea has existed in many forms, including ancient gladiator clashes, professional boxing, and UFC — and is instantly recognizable, despite the hadokens, sonic booms, and other ridiculous super-powered attacks.

As a result, Street Fighter V is one of the rare esports games that receives significant mainstream airtime, with several high-profile tournaments being broadcast on Disney XD, ESPN 2, and TBS. It’s bolstered by the Capcom Pro Tour, a series with a cash pool that tops $600,000.

Street Fighter V, despite its rocky start and DLC shenanigans, may very well be the most accessible esports title for people who don’t identify as gamers.

The simple premise of two people punching themselves unconscious is one that’s damn near universal. The idea has existed in many forms, including ancient gladiator clashes, professional boxing, and UFC — and is instantly recognizable, despite the hadokens, sonic booms, and other ridiculous super-powered attacks.

Related: How to Become a Professional Fortnite Player

As a result, Street Fighter V is one of the rare esports games that receives significant mainstream airtime, with several high-profile tournaments being broadcast on Disney XD, ESPN 2, and TBS. It’s bolstered by the Capcom Pro Tour, a series with a cash pool that tops $600,000.

Tekken 7

Tekken 7, like the main-line Tekken games that came before it, is a tale of fathers and sons attempting to murder each other to purge the Mishima clan from the Devil Gene, a magical DNA bit that transforms certain people into hell spawn.

Though Tekken 7 is known for its single-player story, the game thrives as an esport due to its multiple fighting styles, 3D movement (which creates new avenues for attacking and dodging), and slow-motion effects that kick in when both fighters’ life bars are low and they perform simultaneous close-quarter melee attacks. High-level play results in many Kung Fu Theater-like moments that you won’t see in rival fighting games.

The Tekken World Tour is where the best pro players duke it out, for prizes totaling nearly $200,000.