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To view more photos from the article, visit Tech View: Libraries can be gateway to e-sports, tech careers article written by Ryan Ozawa

Playing video games for a living is no longer a boomer punchline. The video game industry is a $300 billion juggernaut, and within that sprawling universe, competitive gaming already drives $1.38 billion annually — and it’s growing fast.

Of course, we must think bigger than the game players alone, even as they are increasingly celebrated and paid at levels that rival “real” sports celebrities.

Video games are home to some of the most advanced technologies, and involve myriad skills: software development, multimedia design, AR and VR immersive world-building, and the melding of game theory and artificial intelligence. Wrapped around that, you find marketing, recruiting and talent development, event planning and production, intellectual property and countless other disciplines that go along with any big business.