The Best Anime and Series to Watch If You Love Gaming or Esports

Mghamer Editorial Team · 13 October 2026

4 min read

From The King’s Avatar’s pro circuit to Arcane’s League of Legends world, these anime and series turn gaming culture into memorable stories.

If ranked matches, tournament broadcasts or a long RPG campaign are already part of your week, the right series can feel like another way into the hobby. Some shows focus on the pressure of competing; others capture the friendships, rivalries and imagined worlds that make games memorable.

Here are six picks for different kinds of fans. The order is a viewing guide, not a ranking: the best first choice depends on whether you want esports drama, a game adaptation, arcade nostalgia or a full virtual adventure.

For the esports story: The King’s Avatar

The King’s Avatar is the most direct recommendation if you want a story about professional play. Its central figure, Ye Xiu, is an experienced player pushed out of his team’s lineup and drawn back toward competition. The series gives you team dynamics, practice, strategy and the difficult work of rebuilding a career. Start here if the appeal of esports is the people and decisions behind the match, rather than a real tournament recap.

For a documentary-style team: Players

Players follows a fictional professional League of Legends team in a comedic documentary style. That format lets it poke fun at gaming personalities while still taking rivalry, leadership and a team’s championship ambitions seriously. It is a strong pick if you enjoy sports documentaries and want an esports setting that does not assume you already know every champion or competitive term.

For a game world with its own identity: Arcane

Arcane is based on League of Legends, but it works as a character-led animated drama even if you have never opened the game. Its best fit is the viewer who wants striking animation, complicated relationships and a city shaped by unequal power. Think of it as a way to explore a game universe through television, rather than a guide to how a match works.

For a more intense game adaptation: Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Set in the world of Cyberpunk 2077, Edgerunners follows people trying to survive in Night City. It is the pick for fans who want fast, stylish science fiction and a story connected to a game’s setting without needing to play first. Of this list, it has the most intense tone, so choose it when you are in the mood for a darker watch.

For arcade history and rivalry: Hi Score Girl

Hi Score Girl brings gaming down to the arcade floor. Its story follows young players, their competition and the connection they build around classic fighting games. Choose it for the shared rituals of gaming: learning a matchup, challenging a rival and remembering the place where you first found your people.

For the feeling of discovering an MMO: Shangri-La Frontier

Shangri-La Frontier is built around the pleasure of entering a huge game world and figuring it out. Its gamer protagonist moves from deliberately difficult “bad games” to a popular fantasy adventure, carrying the habits of a dedicated player with him. This is the most natural pick if you love exploration, boss fights and the small decisions that turn a game into a personal story.

What should you watch first?

For a story closest to professional esports, choose The King’s Avatar or Players. For a polished game adaptation, start with Arcane; for a darker one, try Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. Hi Score Girl is the warmest choice for arcade nostalgia, while Shangri-La Frontier is for the thrill of getting lost in a new game.

Streaming catalogs vary by country, so check the official title pages in your region. Whichever you choose, these series share one familiar idea: games matter because of the worlds we enter and the people we meet there.