Results from the Logitech G PRO Series Survey uncover a growing acceptance of esports and professional gaming as a calling, with over half (54%) of respondents globally believing professional gaming to be a legitimate career path.<\/span><\/p>\n The attitudes of older generations differ greatly in terms of acceptance of the career. Though two-thirds (67%) of Gen Z and 60% of Millennials agree professional gaming is a legitimate career path, just 37% of Baby Boomers do.<\/span><\/p>\n The generation gap: unlocking new career pathways<\/b><\/p>\n Some nations are racing ahead in the rise of these digital athletes. In Germa<\/span>ny, just one in five (20%) of Baby Boomers consider professional gaming to be a legitimate career, compared to nearly three-quarters (74%) of Baby Boomers in China.<\/p>\n Derek Perez, Global Communications Gaming lead at Logitech G, comments: \u201cThis research shows how far esports and gaming have come \u2013 not only as entertainment, but as a genuine path to personal and professional success. However, more can be done to support younger generations in pursuing careers in professional gaming.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe more companies like Logitech support athletes and the industry overall, the<\/span><\/p>\n more opportunities there will be for people around the world to pursue roles in esports.\u201d<\/p>\n From side quest to main stage: the evolution of professional gaming careers\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Overall opinions in the Logitech G PRO Series Survey are favourable \u2013 particularly with younger generations \u2013 but there is some way to go towards professional gaming being seen as a more respectable, mainstream career.<\/span><\/p>\n Healthcare professionals (55%), lawyers (33%), teachers or lecturers (30%) and engineers (28%) are at the top of the list of careers worldwide in terms of respectability \/ considered respectable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Professional gaming (8%) is on par with musicians, actors, or entertainers (9%), professional racers (8%), and politicians (7%) when it comes to how respectable people see these careers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Just 1% of Boomers and 3% of Gen X say they would choose for their children or a young person close to them to become a professional gamer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Even Millennials are apprehensive, with just 4% recommending the profession for a young person they know. While 15% say they would encourage them to pursue a career as a doctor or healthcare professional.<\/span><\/p>\n But mainstream esports careers are gaining appeal: while 44% believe politics and 25% believe teaching is less desirable now than a decade ago, two-fifths (40%) say professional gaming is more aspirational in 2026 than it was in 2016.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The biggest barriers to overcome for pursuing professional gaming as a career include the perceived financial risk (42%), competitiveness of the industry (34%) and lack of parental and societal support (31%).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A third of respondents worldwide think professional gaming doesn\u2019t offer job security, while 42% say that people don\u2019t see professional gaming as a real job because it\u2019s still seen as a hobby rather than a valid career route.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The pro player toolkit: an understanding of skills required to succeed<\/b><\/p>\n The survey results highlight a recognition of the physical and mental demands of competitive gaming, with more than a third (37%) globally supporting the addition of the sport in the Olympic Games – rising to nearly half (49%) of Gen Z.<\/span><\/p>\n People increasingly see a career in professional gaming as mentally demanding (84%), while more than half (55%) agree it is a physically demanding career.<\/span><\/p>\n The dedication to training and development in professional gaming is also being recognised, with more than a quarter (27%) of people thinking gamers spend 10 \u2013 12 hours per day grafting \u2013 far exceeding the traditional \u201c9 to 5\u201d working day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Levelling barriers: challenges in professional gaming and esports careers access\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n One in five respondents believe that a lack of formal qualifications or education requirements are some of the main reasons people don\u2019t see professional gaming as a real career. However, there is huge appetite to combat this, as almost half (47%) think that schools should include esports classes in the curriculum alongside traditional sports.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While this prospect is especially popular with nations like Switzerland (73%), China (77%) and even the USA (46%), nations like the UK (32%), France (36%) and Germany (29%) remain more cautious.<\/span><\/p>\n Worldwide, there are calls for more coaching and educational routes to professional gaming careers. Most people globally (65%) think there should be formal education pathways for careers in esports and professional gaming from universities, colleges, and specialist courses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Respondents say more media coverage on mainstream channels and professional training facilities (33%), more transparency around earnings (32%) and inclusion in major global sporting events (30%) would make people take professional gaming more seriously as a career.<\/span><\/p>\n Derek Perez concludes: \u201cEnsuring access to training, facilities, and technology is essential in ensuring the continued growth of careers in professional gaming. As a leader in gaming technology, Logitech G is committed to empowering everyone \u2013 from aspiring esports stars to everyday gamers \u2013 with gear designed for precision and reliability.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWith products like the <\/span>PRO X2 SUPERSTRIKE<\/span><\/a>, the first gaming mouse to feature a Haptic Inductive Trigger System, and the <\/span>Logitech G512 X TMR Analog\/Mechanical Gaming Keyboard<\/span><\/a>, our most versatile keyboard ever, we help all gamers perform at their best, whether competing on the world stage or building skills for life beyond the game.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Notes on study: Game On for esports jobs: 65% globally demand more education and career pathways for pro gaming A global study, commissioned by Logitech G released today reveals almost two-thirds of people worldwide (65%) support more formal education pathways in esports and gaming for aspiring professionals, though stark generational and regional divides remain. Results from the Logitech […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":33803,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[3243,3419],"tags":[3469,1551,3466,16,3467,1274,3468],"class_list":["post-33800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gaming-streaming","category-research","tag-competitive-gaming","tag-esports","tag-esports-careers","tag-gaming","tag-gaming-careers","tag-logitech-g","tag-professional-gaming"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.logitech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.logitech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.logitech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.logitech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/116"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.logitech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33800"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.logitech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33805,"href":"https:\/\/www.logitech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33800\/revisions\/33805"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.logitech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.logitech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.logitech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.logitech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.logitech.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Grid-SmallerAsset-1-293x300.png\")
<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n
\n<\/b>Research was conducted by Logitech G in partnership with Censuswide,<\/span> January 2026 using
\n<\/span>18,000 respondents in total (1,500 per market: UK, France, Germany, Spain, Poland, Switzerland, Sweden, USA, Brazil, South Korea, China, Australia). For data related to a specific country, please contact our press room.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"