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A student attends an esports management class at the Sichuan Film and Television University in Chengdu, China, in 2017.   © Reuters
Business trends

Life after esports: What happens when pro gamers hang up the joystick?

Lack of education and skills often makes finding a new career a challenge

SHOTARO TANI, Nikkei staff writer | South Korea

TOKYO -- The average retirement age for esports professionals, so the industry saying goes, is 25. That is when a gamer's reflexes begin to decline -- fatal for professional players of fast-paced genres like first-person shooting games. So what happens to a pro gamer when it is time to hang up the joystick? 

As in other sports, there are various career paths for former pros who want to stay close to the game. For the top players, there are jobs as coaches or analysts at pro esports teams. "It's just like baseball, where famous players become coaches or managers," said Masumi Fukuda, editor-in-chief of the free esports magazine Game Star.

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