How To Find A Great Esports App Developer?

Wondering how to find a great esports app developer? 

That’s a great question which we will answer here.

The opportunities in the esports games space are impressive, however, you need the right capabilities to take advantage of such opportunities.

You need a wide range of capabilities when developing an esports tournament app, e.g., web application development, Android development, iOS development, blockchain development, etc. How do you find them?

Finding that exceptional esports app developer

Let’s take a deeper look into the capabilities you need, and how to find them:

1. Deep knowledge of “Software development life cycle” (SDLC)

A project to build an esports tournament software requires far more than programming skills. Thorough knowledge of the development process or SDLC is important. This is due to the following reasons:

• An esports app development project will likely use the Agile methodology.
• Agile is markedly different from traditional SDLC models like Waterfall.
• An Agile project uses techniques like “Scrum”, where small, cross-functional teams work on “Sprints” i.e., iterations. “Scrum teams” are empowered teams that make several key decisions. We, at DevTeam.Space, have the right capabilities to manage such teams, as I have explained in “How to build a Scrum development team?”.
• The team creates a “Minimum Viable Product” (MVP) first and then enhances it based on real market feedback.
• Your developers need to know Agile well and should demonstrate the capabilities to work in such empowered teams.
• Developers should also know how to use Agile metrics like “Sprint burndown”, “Agile velocity”, “Lead time”, etc.

2. Excellent knowledge of managed cloud services platforms

Entrepreneurs launching new esports apps will likely want to get going with their projects quickly. Managed cloud services providers can help here, and the programmer you hire should know how to work on those platforms. Look for the following:

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• The developer should know how to work effectively on a “Platform as a Service” (PaaS) for the esports web app development. PaaS providers like AWS Elastic Beanstalk or Heroku address the entire cloud infrastructure, networking, operating system, middleware, and runtime environment. PaaS providers enable you to use databases, DevOps, auto-scaling, and many more key services. We, at DevTeam.Space, have significant experience working on PaaS. You can read “How to deploy your Dart app to Heroku?” to know more about our expertise.
• Programmers should also know how to use “Mobile Backend as a Service” (MBaaS) platforms. AWS Amplify, Kinvey, and other MBaaS providers handle the cloud infrastructure, persistent storage, user management, security, push notifications, 3^rd party API integration, social media integration, etc for a mobile esports platform. This eliminates the mobile apps backend development and management effort, therefore, development is faster. We, at DevTeam.Space, have just the right experience with MBaaS platforms that you need. I have explained our capabilities in “How to choose the best Mobile Backend as a Service (MBaaS)?”.

3. In-depth Node.js skills

You will launch a web app as part of your eSports business, and Node.js is increasingly a popular choice for web app development. You should consider developers with Node.js skills, to realize the following benefits:

• The language enables asynchronous, event-driven programming, which helps in building scalable apps. An esports app needs to scale.
• Implementing streaming is easier with Node.js, and your esports app needs streaming.
• Developers can code performant apps with Node.js.
• JavaScript developers find it easy to use.
• js boasts of a vibrant developer community, and thousands of shared open-source frameworks and tools improve developer productivity. In fact, I recommend Express.js, a highly performant framework built on Node.js for your esports app.

Node.js is an important capability for our teams at DevTeam.Space, and you can judge it in “10 great tools for Node.Js software development”.

4. Streaming app development expertise

Live streaming is an important functionality in an esports app, therefore, look for developers with appropriate experience. The following are important:

• Developers should know how to use streaming cloud solutions. One such prominent solution in the market is “Wowza Streaming Cloud”, offering high-quality and low-latency cloud streaming.
• Programmers should also know how to use the appropriate “Software development kits” (SDKs) to implement such cloud streaming solutions. For e.g., Wowza has their “GoCoder SDK”, which expedites the development.

We, at DevTeam.Space, have significant expertise in streaming app development. Read “How to build a video streaming app like Netflix?” to judge our capabilities.

5. Knowledge of tools to build competitions in your game

Esports are multi-player games involving competitions. Your app will need features enabling users to set up tournaments, leagues, etc. The good news is that there are tools that let you build in such features. Amazon GameOn is an excellent example. It offers the following features and advantages:

• It’s a set of flexible APIs that are easy to use.
• GameOn helps in increasing player retention and revenue.
• The app can feature cross-platform competitive gameplay.
• You can implement real-world cash-winning scenarios and gaming prizes.
• Users can create tournaments, set up rules for fair play, and engage the fans.
• GameOn works with Twitch.

You should hire developers with experience in GameOn or similar APIs. We, at DevTeam.Space, have the right expertise in developing esports apps using GameOn, as I have described in “How to build an app For esports?”.

6. Scalable web app development services experience

An esports tournaments app needs to scale well. You should hire developers with experience developing scalable web apps. The following capabilities are key:

• Developers should know how to define the scalability objectives using the right metrics.
• Experience with the right “Application Performance Monitoring” (APM) solutions is important.
• Selecting the right PaaS provider is key. We, at DevTeam.Space, understand PaaS providers well, as I explained in “10 top PaaS providers”.
• Your software architects should choose the right software architecture pattern.
• Developers should know the right framework that aids in scalability.
• Programmers should use the right database solutions to achieve scaling. MySQL and PostgreSQL are scalable RDBMS options, and MongoDB is a great choice for NoSQL databases.

7. Mobile UI design expertise

Esports is a growing industry, however, it’s highly competitive. Your Android and iOS apps should attract and retain users. This requires an elegant, yet simple UI. Your team should have knowledge of the following aspects:

• Mobile navigation menu: I have earlier explained popular patterns in “Mobile navigation menu examples”.
• Mobile app color schemes: There are several popular mobile app UI color schemes for the team to choose from. Our guide “8 trends in mobile app color scheme” explains them in detail.
• Icon design for the mobile app: There are several best practices to follow, e.g., keeping the design simple, designing memorable icons, maintaining consistency with the UI design, following platform-specific guidelines, etc.

8. Android development expertise

An Android app is important for your esports business, therefore, you should look to hire developers with Android mobile app development expertise. Programmers you hire should be comfortable with Android Studio, the popular Android “Integrated Development Environment” (IDE).

You should hire Kotlin developers for Android app development. Kotlin offers multiple advantages, as follows:

• It’s a modern language with significant backing from JetBrains, i.e., the company that created Kotlin, and Google.
• It’s increasingly popular for Android development, and there is a good deal of developer support.
• The concise syntax of Kotlin helps developers to accomplish their objectives even with less code.
• Kotlin helps in writing bug-free code since the language has excellent approaches to prevent common errors like null pointer exceptions.
• Code written in Kotlin is easy to maintain.
• Kotlin is fully interoperable with Java and uses Java libraries.
• It’s a lightweight language, therefore, developers can write performant apps.

9. iOS development skills

You will obviously have an iOS app as part of your esports business. Hire iOS developers with sufficient experience in working with Xcode, which is Apples’ IDE for iOS development. Swift is the right choice of programming language for iOS app development. You should hire iOS developers with experience in this language.

There are many advantages to using Swift, which are as follows:

• Swift has operators for strong control, class division, string concatenation, etc. This helps developers save coding effort.
• It’s a lightweight language, therefore, programmers can code fast, performant apps.
• Swift facilitates writing error-free code with features like generics and type interfaces.
• Programmes coded using Swift are highly readable since the language is just like English.
• Swift enjoys excellent backing from technology giants like Apple and IBM.
• It’s easy to maintain an app written in Swift.
• iOS apps written in Swift have better “App Store Optimization” (ASO) since Apple rewards developers that use modern technology favored by the company.

At DevTeam.Space, we value our expertise in this language. Want to check out our capabilities vis-à-vis Swift? Read “How to migrate your Objective-C project to Swift?”.

10. Blockchain development skills

Blockchain is emerging as an important catalyst for a transformation in the esports gaming industry. The esports industry faces a few challenges that could hamper its’ sustainable growth. These are as follows:

• There are fraudulent activities like match-fixing.
• The industry lacks a legitimate and self-sustaining ecosystem.
• The distribution of rewards to the service providers isn’t transparent.
• The entry barrier is high since it’s costly to organize and sustain tournaments.
• Players’ share of the revenue is small.

Blockchain, with its’ decentralization, tamper-proof records, transparency, security, and autonomous smart contracts can transform the industry. I have explained this in “10 ways blockchain will revolutionize the esports industry”, however, a summary of the potential is as follows:

• Developers can use blockchain to provide a decentralized platform for esports.
• Blockchain can improve transparency in esports.
• The technology can lower the entry barrier and level the playing field.
• Payments, donations, in-app purchases, and incentive models can benefit from blockchain platforms and crypto tokens.
• Crowdfunding of esports ventures will be easier with blockchain.
• Trading of in-game assets and the creation of rarer assets will be easier with blockchain.

You will need to hire blockchain developers if want to use blockchain in your esports app. I recommend you use the Ethereum blockchain platform and create a “Decentralized App” (DApp) that will run Ethereum smart contracts.

You will need developers with the following skills:

• Ethereum blockchain development skills;
• Solidity language skills for Ethereum smart contract development.

Note that blockchain is a relatively new technology and Ethereum blockchain development skills are niche. You need to budget accordingly, and factor in longer hiring lead time.

DevTeam.Space has considerable blockchain expertise, as follows:

• Strategizing: See “What to plan for when undertaking blockchain software development?”.
• Ethereum blockchain development: Check out “Blockchain software development using the Ethereum network”.
• esports app development using blockchain: Judge our capabilities by reading “How to create a secure in eSports app purchase/payment system using blockchain”.

Planning for an esports app? Look beyond just an esports app developer

An esports app development project needs much more than just skilled developers! Various aspects such as strategy, project management, architecture, etc. need as much focus as development.

Such projects could be complex, requiring end-to-end project management. You might need a trusted app development company as a project partner. Read our guide “How to find the best software development company?”.

After you have done this, take a moment to fill out a DevTeam.Space project specification form. Our developers have years of experience in application development and all the major technology stacks.

We have vetted all our developers and provide their real-time progress reports. You can partner with these skilled game developers to build a range of esports software like robust esports betting software, esports league management software, esports team management software, etc. Their work is guaranteed by the company so there is no risk to you at all.

Frequently Asked Questions on an esports app developer