Esports “Set For Mammoth Growth” in 2019 and Beyond
Through 2018, the esports market has continued to grow at a massive rate and it is clear that this growth trajectory won’t be slowing down anytime soon. Fewer and fewer people outside the industry are seeing esports as a niche interest or passing trend, but a legitimate, lucrative and very entertaining sport that, in time, will easily eclipse traditional sport. Esports is a global phenomenon, growing in every region, particularly among younger demographics.
As esports continues to gain popularity and attract increasing viewership across the globe, more and more industry leaders are sponsoring esports tournaments and teams. Huge investments are coming from brands such as Coca-Cola, McDonalds, BMW, Adidas and Intel as well as gaming hardware companies like SteelSeries, Logitech and many more to leverage the exposure of a huge audience base. Substantial investments in esports sponsorships augur well for the future growth of the market.
A report by Forbes last month found that nine esports companies are now worth over $100 million. Cloud9, which is also the leading team from a competitive standpoint, lead the board with a value estimated at $310 million.
As an all-digital sport, a growing number of media companies have recognised the potential of esports and increased the coverage of esports events. Among others, Turner Broadcasting System, WME-IMG and ESPN are now broadcasting esports events. The growing coverage of esports events on broadcast media will further increase viewership and propel the esports market in the coming years.
The worldwide proliferation of esports awareness and popularity is certainly helped by the increased media exposure. Additionally, the amount of international esports events around the world is helping drive global growth, with even official tourist boards recognising the potential for esports to be a major draw for international and domestic visitors.
The cultural phenomenon Fortnite has had a huge effect in bringing competitive gaming to a mainstream, diverse audience. With almost 80 million players as of August, the game consistently attracts and retains new players. Ninja, the world’s premier Fortnite streamer recently made the cover of ESPN The Magazine and the dance moves have become a standard part of NFL touchdown and soccer goal celebrations all year.
In 2018, the inclusion as a demonstration event in the Asian Games has been a significant event in terms of legitimising esports. The Asian Games attracts world-class players from a wide range of sports categories and a worldwide audience. That esports exclusively possessed over 60% of viewership among all the sports at the games shows the trend of future competitive gaming and the growing mass public interest in esports.
A major report from investment bank Berenberg last month predicts that esports and the video game sector is set for “mammoth growth” in the future, and that traditional media companies such as Disney, AT&T and Amazon will grow their interest in the sector. According to the report,
“…now that corporates have awoken to the opportunity, sponsorship deals have been growing greatly in number and size. Furthermore, companies are very interested in marketing through esports because the demographics consist in large part of hard-to-reach millennials that tend to be relatively affluent. Additionally, data collection capabilities on viewers are much better than for traditional sports, as esports fans tend to watch games online.”
While global revenue from esports is estimated to reach $906 million this year, Berenberg’s base forecast is that the market will generate $20 billion in 2025 as it reaches maturity.
Although in 2018 the digital space has an increasing amount of diverse content vying for consumers attention, the gaming and esports industry has continued its upward growth trajectory unabated. Gaming and esports has been shown to be universal and without geographic or demographic boundaries. This type of open market opportunity continues to drive innovation and growth that will support the esports industry well into the future.
Esports Interactive Platform is developing a global platform to enable direct interaction between brands, teams and audiences within the esports community.
For more information about the EIPlatform project please visit eiplatform.io or read the EIP Whitepaper
