ESPORTS MARKET ANALYSIS

Esports Market Size and Trends

The global esports market is estimated to be valued at US$ 2.88 Bn in 2024 and is expected to reach US$ 10.94 Bn by 2031, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21% from 2024 to 2031.

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The esports market has seen significant growth in the past few years. Factors such as increasing popularity of video games and growing popularity of esports competitions viewed as entertainment have been driving the market growth. Live video streaming platforms and sponsorships from major brands and companies have further accelerated market revenues. Growing Millennials and GenZ population who are natives to gaming and technology along with rising internet and smartphone penetration globally are expected to push the market revenues upwards in the coming years. Major online streaming platforms are investing heavily in tournaments and league championships. If this trend continues, the esports industry is poised to become one of the most popular forms of entertainment globally.

Emergence of streaming platforms

The emergence and steady rise of new streaming platforms has been a major driver for the growth of the global esports market. Various video streaming services such as Twitch, YouTube, Facebook Gaming, and others have come up in the last few years which has made esports streaming and viewing widely accessible. These platforms allow both amateurs and professional players to stream their gameplay and tournaments live for anyone to watch for free or through paid subscriptions. Viewers around the world can now easily tune into their favorite esports’ athletes and events without any geographical restrictions.

This has helped tremendously in popularizing esports on a global scale. More viewers are getting exposed to esports through live streaming and it is generating a lot of interest among young populations who want to try their skills in gaming as well. It has given professional players a way to monetize their skills and talents through subscriptions, donations and advertisement revenues on these platforms. Leagues and tournament organizers are also leveraging streaming to broadcast all the action live for virtual audiences and generate greater revenues through sponsorship deals. Overall, video streaming services have become the leading distribution platform and primary window for esports viewership worldwide. Their round the clock availability coupled with high quality production value is translating viewers into die-hard esports fans leading to sustained market growth.

For instance, in February 2023, Nvidia and Microsoft formed a strategic partnership to bring Xbox PC games to Nvidia's GeForce Now cloud gaming platform. This collaboration allows Microsoft to expand its cloud gaming offerings by streaming Activision Blizzard titles, including popular games, through Nvidia's GeForce Now service.

Expanding prize pools and sponsorships

The unprecedented rise in prize pools and monetary support from sponsors is another leading driver propelling the global esports industry forward at a rapid pace. Mega esports tournaments like The International Dota 2 Championships and League of Legends World Championships now feature prize pools exceeding tens of millions of dollars each year crowdfunded entirely by fans. Such astronomically high prize pools have elevated esports to another level in terms of legitimacy, prestige, and attraction for top tier pro-gamers. They are lured towards grinding long hours of practice and tournament participation as winning a single championship can potentially set them up financially for life.

Alongside, blue-chip companies from diverse industries like automobiles, consumer electronics, beverages, etc. are aggressively pumping millions of dollars in multi-year sponsorship deals with esports leagues, teams and events. They view esports as the ideal platform to reach younger, digitally savvy demographics in a highly engaging format. Sponsors are also getting exceptional returns through long term brand engagement, increased sales, and dedicated fan following generated through their involvement.