Photo by Anthony Brolin / The Unsplash License
The eSports industry is now a billion-dollar industry, and it’s expected to reach more than $1.5 billion by 2021. It’s growing worldwide, but it’s currently most popular in the U.S., China, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Thanks to its growing popularity, cities around the world are now building stadiums specifically dedicated to eSports, professional sports leagues are investing heavily in eSports, and colleges are even introducing eSports majors.
For reference, eSports includes genres of games like: first-person shooter, fighting, multiplayer online battle area (MOBA), real-time strategy, battle royale, and games based on real-life sports. This wide selection of eSports games has certainly been a huge factor in its growth. But other big reasons for its explosive growth include rapid improvements in technology across the board, which has increasingly digitized our lives.
Additionally, eSports are more popular with younger generations who grew up playing and watching video games. So instead of going to see a professional sports game, many of them are more likely to follow their favorite players on social media, watch tournaments online, bet on eSports outcomes, and travel to sports stadiums around the world to watch eSports teams play in the flesh.
eSports Teams
eSports is now rivaling real-life sports with franchise teams, dedicated fans, regulated season matches, and massive championship games. Many eSports teams around the world are now worth more than $100 million, with many players earning million-dollar paychecks. The world’s most valuable eSports team is Cloud9, which is worth more than $300 million.
Some professional sports leagues even own eSports teams or host tournaments. The NBA, for example, has partnered with Take-Two Interactive to create the NBA 2K League, and MLS has partnered with EA Sports to host the eMLS Cup. Former players like Michael Jordan have also invested in eSports, along with Stephen Curry, Drake, and Kevin Durant.
Most Popular Games
Although the world of eSports includes a large selection of games, several of the most popular — and the most valuable in the world of professional eSports — are League of Legends, Overwatch, and Fortnite. For example, ever-addicting Fortnite has more than 125 million active players across the world. It’s even produced superstars like Ninja, who has made a career out of playing Fortnite for a living. He has tens of millions of Twitter followers and YouTube subscribers, and reportedly makes seven figures per month.
Other popular games include Call of Duty, Dota 2, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Hearthstone, Rocket League, and Super Smash Bros. Besides Fortnite, which is a battle royale game, MOBA games like League of Legends and Dota 2 tend to be the most popular to watch and play.
eSports Tournaments
There are dozens of eSports tournaments around the world, and the list is likely to grow much further from there. Tournaments like the Fortnite World Cup, League of Legends World Championship, the Rocket League Championship Series, and the Smite World Championship tend to be the most popular and have the biggest prize pools.
Hundreds of millions of people watch eSports tournaments every year, and the viewership totals are growing every year. For example, in 2018, roughly 380 million people watched eSports. By 2021, that number is expected to grow to roughly 550 million.
Improved Technology
Virtual reality is also taking over the eSports industry. Players can now indulge in virtual reality eSports, join VR eSports leagues, and compete in VR eSports tournaments. As this technology improves, the entire world of eSports is likely to move to virtual reality because it offers a far more immersive experience.
Virtual reality can also offer fans a better viewing experience. Many games now allow fans to stream live tournaments through their VR headsets so they can feel as if they’re actually there in the stadium. Although this option might not be for all eSports fans, it’s still another way that fans can have fun watching the game.
What it all comes down to is: More people are aware of eSports, investing in eSports (both time and money), and engaging with eSports. And this isn’t going to stop any time soon.
Published by Harry Miller
