The rise of E-sports: The multi-million dollar business which continues to prosper
The growth of E-sports is nothing short of remarkable, and according to a report from Ovum, the industry is set to leap to a staggering $1.9 billion dollars by 2022.
E-sports was founded on October 19th, 1972 and in 2020, was worth a reported $950 million dollars and is expected to explode over the course of the next few years.
The majority of the revenue from E-Sports comes from advertisement and sponsorship, with the rest coming from media rights, publisher fees, merchandise, tickets, as well as digital and online streaming.
Which countries make the most money from E-sports, then?
America is the current leader of the E-Sports market, making a staggering $160 million dollars from 18,776 players. They’re closely followed by China, who earn an estimated $127 million dollars from 4,721 players.
South Korea, Sweden, Denmark, France, Russia, Canada, Germany and Finland make up the rest of the countries who are thriving through the ESports market. The United Kingdom is 11th, earning an approximate $22 million dollars from 3,406 players.
How E-sports has grown so rapidly around the world?
The question is of course, how has E-sports grown so rapidly around the world? You had the first game which was competed in 1972, called ‘Intergalactic Spacewar Olympics.’ It has now grown enormously due to technology, with millions playing E-sports around the world.
Due to a lack of technology, from the 70’s to the early 2000’s, there was very little growth in terms of E-Sports, but following developments in Seoul, South Korea, the first World Cyber games were held.
The games which were played were FIFA 2000, Age of Empires II, Quake III Arena, StarCraft: Broodwar and Unreal tournament. 174 participants took part in 17 different countries, with the winner taking home $200,000 dollars.
Since the inauguration of the World Cyber Games, there has been a steady growth and by 2008, when the event was held in Cologne, Germany — 800 participants took part in 78 different countries, with the winner this time earning $470,000 dollars.
The biggest prize money of this tournament came in Xi’an, China, when the winner took home $612,500 dollars. 506 people contested in this competition in 34 different countries, which included Dota 2, Honor of Kings, Clash Royale, Warcraft III: The frozen Throne, Hearthstone and CrossFire.
In 2003, the first ever Electronic Sports World Cup was then competed, in Poiters, France.
It has been a huge success with France currently in the lead overall, as of 2014, winning 23 gold medals, 14 silvers and 25 bronze medals, followed by the United States of America in second, and Sweden in third. What might surprise you is the fact that China are 15th in the table, with just one gold medal, five silver and seven bronze medals.
The games that players compete in are Call of Duty and Counter Strike: Global offensive.
In 2005, Cyberathlete Professional League was the first ever E-Sports event which surpassed $1 million dollars, which was a game-changing moment for the industry and in 2007, the Championship gaming series erupted, with people watching the coverage everywhere around the world.
At the League of Legends tournament, in 2009, there was an astounding 137 million hours of viewership. Those figures do not include Chinese platforms, either and that is a stark rise of 66% from the 2018 League of Legends tournament.
Not only that, but the 2019 League of Legends tournament also had the highest peak audience, hitting 3.9 million, as people watched the semi-final of the competition, and a staggering 94% rise on 2018’s viewership for that round and the highest for that year, ahead of the Fortnite World Cup finals, which hit 2.3 million views, as well as the mobile esports competition Free Fire World Series in Rio de Janeiro, which had a peak of two million views.
Another watershed moment is set to be when ESports is included in the 2024 Olympics, in Paris, as a side event. Organising committee president Tony Estanguet has said it will be a ‘unique experience’ for fans watching.
Some of the E-Sports events which are set to take place include offshore racing, cycling and rowing, as well as some other events, Estanguet confirmed.
Speaking of this brilliant opportunity to include E-Sports in the 2024 Olympics, Estanguet said: “There will be a number of virtual events taking place alongside the Olympics in Paris, which will be another way of engaging with the population,”
“It will be a unique experience and is a great way of using technology to benefit the Games.”
“It follows along with the idea of mass participation and connected events.”
This really goes to show how far E-Sports has come since the 1970’s and how technology has enhanced the company. It seems inevitable the E-Sports industry will surpass $1 billion dollars this year, and it could be helped by the fact more than half the world are locked-up in their homes, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
