How eSports skyrocketed in recent years

The world of eSports has been around for a quite a while but it’s only the last few years that we have seen the meteoric rise in the total sums of money attached to it. Sponsorship deals, advertising, streaming, and don’t let us forget the multi-million prize pools that are available in nearly all the top-line eSports events.

The industry is huge and its rise in fame is quite obviously a lot to do with the rapid advancements in technology and the video game industry itself. Let’s talk figures quickly so we can put this all into perspective. The eSports industry is currently on target to be worth somewhere around $1.8 billion by the time it arrives in 2022.

These revenues are impressive, but the audience numbers are staggering as well. Again, this is all down to the nature of the genre as everything can be played and viewed online. Esports, in general, is not reliant on weather, transport, or any of the other outside world factors. Simply put, as long as the internet survives then eSports will do just fine, and eSports betting sites in The UK are clearly following this vibe as you can see on Betpal.com.

To some though esports still seems somewhat of a closed underground culture and there is still little coverage across the main media channels. We’ve probably all heard of the FIFA’s and NBA’s of the gaming world, but these are casual games played by casual gamers. We need to look at games such as Dota 2, CS:GO, and League of Legends to find where big-money prizes.

• The Current State Of Play With Esports

We mentioned earlier that esports is capable of surviving any catastrophe but that is not entirely true due to the recent situation faced across the world in 2020. These specific issues all come down to its recent growth and rapid success. Most of the big-money events are played online and the top players are able to play from their own homes or team gaming centers. However, in recent years, there has been a huge demand to watch these epic battles in live environments. This has led to esports organizers hiring out arenas, exhibition halls, and even stadiums to cater to the growing crowds of fans.

All of this has helped the revenues grow with huge sponsorship deals and ticket prices all flowing into the kitty to pay for future events and those impressive prize pools. It was all going so well for the industry until the recent restrictions were put in place across the world. Now, even some of the top events have been cancelled for the foreseeable future due to teams and fans not being able to travel.

The beauty of the esports community though is that they are able to find ways around this issue by reverting back to the ‘good old days’. They can play these tournaments online, perhaps with smaller prizes, but at least the action is still there for the adoring fans. It’s the resilience of esports that looks set to be the vital ingredient. Many people see this industry taking the world by storm once it gets the full coverage that it deserves.

• The Esports Stats Don’t Lie

If we look at the statistics in detail then again it shows the huge growth of this industry over the last couple of years. In terms of active audiences and viewing online, in 2017 there were around 335 million people watching esports events. It is estimated that by 2021 there will be close to 600 million. Both the main viewing platforms, YouTube and Twitch, have experienced huge spikes in esports viewing and this is most likely down to the increase of awareness around this unique sports genre.

Brand investment and sponsorship is also a large part of the revenues being generated in the industry, and the figures from 2016 compared to the forecast for 2021 helps to sum up the remarkable rate of growth. In 2016, the total esports revenue was $493 million and $350 million of that came from investments by brands. The figures for 2021 suggest that the total revenue will sit at the $1.6 billion mark with around $1.3 billion of that being invested by the various brands. It’s a huge increase and it outlines just how valuable this industry is to the big-name brands out there.

• What now for Esports?

The successful future of esports looks all but guaranteed and if you look at how the combination of esports competitions and esports betting sites has developed over the last two decades, there is a lot more money out there that could be injected into the industry. The last few years have also seen official clubs creating their own esports teams with PSG and Manchester City both investing time and money. Professional FIFA players playing for their teams and increasing awareness of both the club and the esports industry is a win-win situation for everyone.

These huge sporting brands are recognizing the importance of online gaming. It might take a few more years for the general public to get accustomed to the idea of people playing video games and making millions of pounds year in year out, but the time will come. The other huge advantage for esports is that there is always fresh content online, and the world loves nothing more than consuming fresh online content.

All the signs points towards the esports industry growing further into the multi-billion-monster it was always set to become. The fact that we are already talking in billions just goes to show the rate at which this industry has already grown. All it needs now is for the rest of the world to jump on board and enjoy the video game battles. Battles that are making bedroom gamers into multi-millionaires with worldwide celebrity status.