Esports Industry News

The global esports audience is expected to grow to nearly 500 million in 2020, as per Newzoo, with Coronavirus lockdowns this figure could even become higher. The world is watching the esports industry and its rapid rise closely and following esports industry news avidly, and so are we.

What is the esports industry?

While we already explain what is esports, the esports and gaming industry encompasses everything related to professional gaming. After development over the past few decades and a rise fuelled by the internet, the video game industry has birthed esports, where professional gamers compete for financial reward and world renown in the top video game titles.

The esports industry includes video game developers and publishers, PC and console equipment makers, professional gamers and teams, tournament creators and organizers, esports streamers, esports betting companies, esports investors and backers, its massive audience and fans, and many other key components.

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Just how big is it?

Esports is now a multimillion-dollar industry and set to shortly be a multibillion-dollar industry, keep reading to find out how much the esports industry is worth by the numbers.

This industry now has almost 500 million fans worldwide, thousands of professional esports competitors, hundreds of professional esports teams and hundreds of esports game titles, and high-payout global competitions. Esports tournaments now see tens of thousands of attendees and generate millions in revenue for organizers as well as paying out millions in prize money.

How much is the esports industry worth?

The competitive gaming industry should surpass a valuation of $1 billion in 2020 reaching $1.1 billion, as per Newzoo, after narrowly missing the $1 billion milestone in 2019.

By 2022 esports industry net worth could be as much as $1.8 billion but perhaps even more. A Goldman Sachs report in 2018 estimated the esports industry will reach a valuation of $3 billion by 2022.

For 2020, Newzoo says the esports industry will achieve year-on-year growth of 15% with three-quarters of this industry’s value coming from media rights and sponsorships. Esports and in-game advertising is already huge and will become more interesting to brands and more prevalent as the industry develops.

The global esports audience will reach nearly 500 million in 2020, with esports enthusiasts accounting for over 220 million of this number. Newzoo puts the growth of the esports enthusiast audience at a CAGR of 11.3%, and gives the occasional viewer audience growth of a CAGR of 9.6%.

It is not just the industry’s competitive scene and audience that is growing, as this industry matures and esports industry news reaches more and more people the industry is thriving with new investors, both professional and amateur, and even with esports betting opportunities.

In an industry growing at such an impactful pace, there are potential money-making opportunities for both esports proponents and for those new to the competitive scene. Those who may never have even played a video game may wish to gamble on esports growth with esports betting or esports investment. The potential for esports investors makes esports finance news a large part of esports industry news, and we’ll be covering all the latest finance and investment news for you too.

How does one enter the esports industry?

There are opportunities for anyone to enter the competitive gaming industry. Gamers can become professional esports competitors, game publishers could bring the next big esports title to market, fans can watch online or attend a tournament, gamblers can make esports betting on their favorite games and players or try esports casinos and investors can buy esports stocks or put capital into budding new esports ventures.

What does this industry need?

The esports and gaming industry is no longer in its infancy, it is maturing rapidly with a growing fan base and ever-increasing revenue generation. Esports audience figures are driving big brand sponsorship and media rights deals to esports, a sign of market maturation.

Capital is also flowing into the industry from major investors and investment funds, often with no prior involvement in gaming, who recognize the potential of the sector. Esports companies are beginning to list publicly on stock exchanges around the globe and esports stocks and esports ETFs are now available for investors, further signs of industry maturity.

The esports industry needs this interest from big brands, investors, and fans in order to drive its success further and become an equal rival to the traditional sports sector, and with as much validity. With exposure to a massive audience, growing regulatory compliance, and the development of fair play organizations and rules, esports will gain the credibility it needs by pushing out negative aspects like allegations of cheating and match-fixing.

The esports industry needs glowing credibility to become the next greatest entertainment destination online and physically, for not just millennials and generation Z but other generations too. Esports industry news shows us esports is quickly gaining this credibility as well as the financial flows which will make it historically as successful and as foundational as traditional sports.