▲The winner of the Fortnite World Cup, Kyle Giersdorf, who goes by the gamer name Bugha, took home a whopping US$3 million. Giersdorf is 16 years old.

▲'Apart of Me' takes users on a journey across a beautiful, tropical island, where they learn to express their emotions calmly and develop coping mechanisms that can help them on their journey through grief in the real world.

▲According to Deadline, in 2018 video games were a US$139 billion business, which was bigger than worldwide box office (US$42 billion) and music streaming and album sales (US$19 billion).

▲Pictured is the Fortnite World Cup Finals eSports tournament at Arthur Ashe Stadium in the Queens borough of New York, US.

▲Mo "MoAuba" Harkous of Germany (right) won against Mosaad "Msdossary" Aldossary of Saudi Arabia in the 2019 FIFA eWorld Cup Final, and took home US$250,000.

▲"Video games are a much better business than [movie] studios,” KeyBanc analyst Evan Wingren told Market Watch. “Games, in general, have the enviable position that their content is interactive, which allows them to make data-driven insights and adjust games and business models that benefits players and the company."

▲Remember, the video game industry was worth US$139 billion in 2018. That’s more than MLB (US$10 billion), the NFL (US$15 billion), the NBA (US$8 billion), and the NHL (US$5 billion)—combined.

▲The 2019 FIFA eWorld Cup Grand Final took place in London's O2 Arena.

▲'Dota 2' is a free 10-player online game that anyone can start training on. In the tournaments, two teams of players from all over the world compete against one another in each game.

▲'Grand Theft Auto' has been widely criticized for depicting torturous acts and extremely sexual scenes, using racially offensive terminology, and holding an incredibly misogynistic portrayal of women.

▲A 2019 study published in British journal Royal Society Open Science reports that teens who play violent video games did not exhibit more aggressive behavior compared with teens who did not play them in the UK.

▲"We all recognize that we need human connection to help us get through these really difficult times," Louis Weinstock, a child psychotherapist told World Hacks. "So this isn't about just hanging out on a mobile app. A big part of our design philosophy is encouraging offline interaction through this virtual world."

▲In the US, video games have often been used as the reason for violence in society, particularly in the prevalence of mass shootings. President Trump has repeatedly tried to draw a direct link between the two.

▲'Apart of Me' is a game designed to connect children who are dealing with grief around the world. Created by social enterprise Bounce Works, the game is a "safe space" for bereaved children available 24/7 where they can discuss death and grief with those who can help.

▲Now the International Dota 2 Championships are eSports' largest annual tournament, with approximately US$25 million in prize money to be awarded.

▲Twitch is the world’s biggest streaming platform, and gets an average of about 15 million visitors a day.

▲The International Dota 2 Championships, a multiplayer game tournament, launched in 2011 with a then-groundbreaking grand prize of US$1 million.

▲Though some psychological organizations in the US discourage children from playing violent video games because it may lead to aggressive behavior, research has not found a direct connection between violent video games and mass shootings, CNN reports. Many view video games as a scapegoat for addressing bigger problems.

▲In 2018, the first place cash prize was US$11.2 million.

▲

When most adults think about video games, they remember old consoles, antiquated animations, and a lot of time spent indoors. But the industry is no longer just people buying games and playing them at home. It's a whole new, highly profitable, and often underestimated world.

Gaming has become an entertainment empire with many moving parts, including films, live streaming, massive eSport tournaments, a different genre of wealthy celebrities, and, of course, its own controversies.

Click through to learn more about the spectacle and some unexpected ways the industry has blown up.

▲'Grand Theft Auto V' has made over US$6 billion, compared to film sensations such as 'Star Wars' and 'Gone With The Wind,' which both collected just over US$3 billion. The game became the most profitable media title in history and shipped over 90 million copies.

▲Fans regularly attend tournaments in cosplay, and video games provide a lot of the inspiration for many costumes.

▲He may not be a professional gamer, but PewDiePie (Felix Kjellberg) has one of the highest numbers of YouTube subscribers in the world, after starting his own streaming channel. He and other streamers like user Markiplier rake in millions of dollars every year.

▲According to data compiled in the book 'Moral Combat,' when comparing per capita dollars spent on video games to homicides by firearm, the US is a clear outlier, with a much higher rate of firearm homicide than any other developed nation, even though countries like South Korea and Japan actually spend more on video games, as a chart published by CNN reveals.

▲Several game releases have rivaled high-grossing films, like 'Red Dead Redemption 2' which made over US$725 million in its opening weekend alone.

▲Video game streaming is another widely lucrative facet of the gaming industry, which has made people millions by simply playing for a virtual audience.

▲There are many eSports and management courses designed to prepare students for jobs in the growing industry.

▲Several video game franchises inspired movies, including an upcoming film for 'Call of Duty.'

▲Gaming houses are becoming more popular, like this one in Marseille, France, which houses pro gamers who live, game, eat, and sleep full-time in the building in order to train for international competitions.

▲

Who knows, you could find yourself cheering enthusiastically at a bunch of young people fidgeting with controllers very soon.

Check out which celebs love to play video games.

▲Unfortunately, there are reportedly many issues in the gaming industry, including harmful labor practices, unfair layoffs, and sexism. Employees are allegedly often overworked and underpaid, then laid off without warning or sometimes even severance.

▲Students of eSports usually study a wide range of subjects, from commentating and script writing, to event organizing and gaming strategy.

▲Players train long hours to master only one game. They also attend LAN parties—a gathering of people with computers or compatible consoles, where a local area network (LAN) connection is established in order to play multiplayer games together—around the world.

▲Organizations like Game Workers Unite were born to help game developers unionize to demand better working conditions, payment for overtime, and more stable employment opportunities.