Top-10 movies about cybersports and online gaming

Cinema and cybersports have been closely intertwined since the creation of video games. The USA, UK and other countries of the world actively shoot dramas, comedies, adventures, action movies, documentaries and other pictures about computer competitions. This article collects the best movies about cybersport and online games. Popular TV series about the virtual world also made it to our top. Their plots are considered (without spoilers) and interesting facts about filming are given.

The top ten feature and documentary stories made it to the list of the best. The main criteria for adding pictures to the top was the presence of quality voice-overs, good audience reviews and high ratings on dedicated movie sites. Well, let’s get started!

#1: «The Wizard» (1989)

American teenagers Jimmy, Haley and Cory go on a trip from Utah to California. On the way, the protagonists come across a slot machine with the arcade game Super Mario Bros. 3. Virtual adventures of the Mario brothers are conquered by Jimmy, and so successfully that upon arrival in Los Angeles, the company of friends decides to participate in a cyber sports tournament for money.

The movie was filmed in 1989 on the wave of popularity of the video game Super Mario Bros. 3. Director Todd Holland was one of the first movies to show what the cybersports industry looks like from the inside — training, matches in front of the audience on a big stage and so on. The performers of the main roles are listed in the table.

Character	Actor/actress
Jimmy	Luke Edwards
Haley	Wendy Phillips
Cory	Vince Trankina

#2: «More than a Game» (2008)

This is a documentary about the World Cyber Games World Championship in 2007. At that time, the World Cyber Games was hosted by the American city of Seattle, and one of the leading disciplines was the strategy WarCraft III. The main characters of the movie are Sky and Grubby. They are warcrafters from China and the Netherlands, who in the future became great cyber sportsmen.

However, in 2007, few people thought about the professional career of a gamer. Players of that time were far away from the salary and popularity of modern «computer» athletes. Video games did not figure in Sky and Grubby’s long-term life goals, but that changed over time.

Paralleling Sky and Grubby’s path to fame, director Jos de Pütter showed how cybersports evolved when its main genre wasn’t MOBAs. Along with WarCraft III, Counter-Strike was the central game of the movie.

#3: «FRAG» (2018)

This is a documentary work by Mike Pasley. Here the Canadian filmmaker touched on the following topics:

What is the phenomenon of the popularity of cybersports.
Where did all kinds of teams and leagues come from.
How tournaments are organized and who gives money for prize funds.

The picture was released in 2008. Its authors visited many American cybersports championships of that time, talking to ordinary fans, video game developers and professional gamers. Among the latter are Fatal1ty, Slasher, and Carmac.

The main goal of the movie «FRAG» is to show the downside of a professional gamer’s career, namely how difficulties in dealing with parents, lack of time to study and bad habits hinder its construction. It is not only a documentary story, but also a drama about the big difficulties of young guys.

#4: «The history of one tournament» (2012)

This is a documentary story about The International — the world championship of Dota 2. It mentions the times of the first Dota, but in the center of the story is the release of the legendary sequel and the record-breaking prize pool of TI. Also in the movie real cyber sportsmen tell about how they first played Dota 2 and how this MOBA gained its authority and popularity.

Here we can also mention the movie The International 2012 about the tournament of the same name. It’s a work of Valve, which shows how gamers were preparing and worried before the second ever Dota 2 World Championship.

#5: «Road to Worlds» (2014)

In this documentary, the company Riot Games talked about its main brainchild — MOBA game League of Legends. The movie was released in three parts. The first one covers the competitive history of LoL, in particular the World Championship. The second — familiarizes professional players, their paths to great victories. The third is about the 2014 World Cup finals.

#6: «Tetris» (2023)

It’s 1988. American businessman Hank Rogers visits a video game exhibition, where he notices «Tetris». This is a puzzle game developed by Soviet programmer Alexei Pazhitnov.

The protagonist goes to Moscow to buy the rights to distribute the game. His goal is to sell «Tetris» to the Japanese company Nintendo. This movie is based on real events. It shows how an aspiring entrepreneur from the United States broke into the competitive business and made «Tetris» one of the most popular puzzle games in the history of video games.

«Tetris» is among the top most recent cybersports movies and TV series. It premiered in 2023. The role of Hank Rogers was played by the star of the TV series «Blackbird», Theron Edgerton.

#7: «Hero Mode» (2021)

Kate is the head of a video game company. Soon the main character’s company will have to take part in a major exhibition of future technologies. Thirty days before the start of the prestigious event, Kate’s company is on the verge of bankruptcy.

The only reliable businesswoman remains her son Troy. This is a teenager with an incredible talent for programming. The young boy undertakes to create a new video game that will save his mother’s company. However, on Troy’s way there are not only strict time limits, but also detractors who want to see Kate fail.

«Hero Mode» is a family adventure with elements of comedy, despite the seemingly serious drama of the plot. The premiere of the picture took place in 2021.

#8: «Free Guy» (2021)

The main character of the movie is a young guy named Guy. Every morning he wakes up, drinks coffee and goes to work in a bank called Bank. There he has a friend named Buddy, who works as a security guard. The actions of the movie take place in a city (called The City).

The guy is almost completely happy and satisfied with his life. He is not confused by the fact that the Bank is robbed several times a day, the City looks like a war zone, and passers-by say the same phrases. For full happiness, the main character lacks a girlfriend.

One day Guy meets a beautiful woman who reveals to him the truth about the City. It turns out that it is a map in the game, and the Guy himself is a minor character. However, he is not satisfied with the role of an ordinary NPC. He is going to turn the computer world upside down and become the main hero.

The premiere of the picture took place in 2021. The role of the guy was performed by Ryan Reynolds, better known to a wide audience as «Deadpool».

#9: «Nerve» (2016)

This is a movie about a cybersports guy Ian and a modest girl Vee. The latter dreams of going to university, but she has no money to pay for tuition. Her classmates persuade Vee to register in the online game «Nerve». Its participants receive risky tasks, the successful completion of which is generously paid by anonymous observers. The protagonist agrees and thus gets acquainted with Ian.

The young couple is liked by the audience. Anonymous sponsors decide that for the further passage of the game Ian and Vee must act together. Over time, the stakes grow and the protagonists realize that they are being forced to undergo increasingly difficult tasks. In addition, the couple discovers that they will not be able to leave «Nerve» on their own.

#10: «Noobees» (2018)

Sylvia is a young basketball player and the daughter of a former professional gamer who left cybersport after a close friend went missing. The main character is not interested in video games, which is not the case with her younger brother. A guy named Eric dreams of following in his father’s footsteps and becoming a professional gamer.

One day Sylvia’s interest in cyber sports awakens. She learns that after her father’s departure from the professional scene, another gamer became its main star. Moreover, now this man trains a team that will confront Eric at a major tournament.

Brother and sister unite in a team, wanting to please their father with a victory over his principal rival. Sylvia is an ambitious and determined girl, but these qualities are not enough for major cybersport triumphs. The tournament is very soon, and the protagonist is just beginning to learn how to play on the computer.

«Noobees» is a 2018 TV series filmed in Colombia. It consists of two seasons, combining drama with elements of comedy. Even though this is a 2 season series and not a movie, we still decided to add it to the end of our review. Without it, we feel our list isn’t as complete.

If you want to learn more about cybersport series (not movies), check out our latest article on this trendy topic.

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