EA's Head of Esports, Monica Dinsmore, on the State of Esports: "We're Smarter, We've Learned From the Past"

The esports industry is, and likely always will be, a bit of a rollercoaster. With humble and amateur beginnings in the early-2000s, the industry experienced a surge in the 2010s aided by the likes of Twitch and YouTube. Rapid organisational growth coupled with rising profiles of top talent proved to be an exciting, if a little unsustainable, avenue for the wider video game industry. Eventually, that rapid growth led us to a period of decline and stagnation. What's been dubbed the "esports winter" followed far-reaching layoffs across all areas of esports, from organisations to tournament organisers, to esports journalists. 

But things are beginning to look a little more optimistic, at least from the perspective of those with a birds-eye view. EA's Head of Esports, Monica Dinsmore, spoke to GINX at the recent ALGS Open in New Orleans, and told us about the upcoming "esports Spring" that we could start to see. 

"We've gone through a little bit of a rollercoaster," Monica said. "And I think that we're kind of resetting, and we're starting to see some of the maybe immature business models of the past that kind of led us into that stable esports winter reset themselves. I think we're all in it together now.

I think that we're smarter, we've learned from the past, and I think that we're going to start to see a more steady and deliberate growth, and I'm really, really excited about that. I've been saying esports Spring, and I think that it's real."

• Read more: ImperialHal Talks ALGS Open Teams: "If You Deserve It, Then You'll Show It"

While things could be looking up for the industry as a whole with a more mature approach to esports, for EA specifically, the path is pretty clear.  "I think the most important thing for us to do is listen to our fans, and create programming that they enjoy, and create an ecosystem that is built by them," Monica said. "It's built by the community, and so immediately we're trying to innovate and bring the game closer, the competition closer to the game.

So even here [at the ALGS], we're trying new things like an open format, we're trying new maps, we're trying legend bans, and hopefully everyone enjoys it. We can kind of double down on those things that people like. I think that's really just the philosophy behind how we grow our programming — try new things, listen to the feedback, and evolve. So [the ALGS Open] is really, specifically, an exciting event for me, because we've never done anything like this before."

The ALGS Open, which took place at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center from May 1-4, 2025, was a huge undertaking for EA. 160 teams competed under one roof for the tournament, some of which had never competed in a LAN before yet shared the main stage with some of the world's best. The logistics alone were probably enough to keep the ALGS staff up at night but, despite concerns, the event was smooth sailing. 

• Read more: Falcons Take the Crown in Inaugural ALGS Open

"It's challenging for the staff, and it's challenging logistically, but it also feels great," Monica added. "It feels like a community, and it feels like an old-school sleepover kind of vibe, you know? Everyone is really chill, and having a great time getting closer to the players. I love when we're able to stretch out, try new things, and innovate, and fans react positively to that.

Certainly we don't always get everything right, but I think the immediate future for us is really about how do we keep things interesting, how do we keep things entertaining, how do we make sure that we're responding to what the fans like. Then, longer term, if that's the foundation, then we hope that we can just keep doing that, and bring more fans into the ecosystem of our games."