10 Best Video Game Documentaries Of All Time
7. Free To Play
Released: 19 March 2014
The financial stakes had never been higher for Dota 2 teams competing at the first edition of The International tournament in 2011. A once unthinkable prize of $1 million was up for grabs, with players from across the world converging on Cologne for the finals.
Free To Play follows the struggles and triumphs of several key players competing at the event, while catching you up on the rise of esports along the way. The event marked a pivotal moment in some of the young gamers’ careers and would determine whether being a professional gamer was a viable career going forward. You also see them fighting for acceptance against traditional family values, struggling with heartbreaks and managing the overwhelming pressure to win.
Produced by Valve (the developers of Dota), this is the most corporate documentary on the list and it never delves too deep into the dark side of online gaming. There is also a notable lack of accounts from the Chinese teams, who essentially become the villains of Free To Play. Still, the documentary does a fine job of showing what life is like for a competitive gamer as they journey through what could be the most important gaming tournament in history.
Free To Play is free to watch on Valve’s official YouTube channel, with a runtime of 75 minutes.