Current Stare of Esports
When going in depth into esports, I've learned that it can be divided into three main concepts: entertainment competition, and community. These concepts are what make up the majority of esports and how it has carried into becoming such a huge industry. Looking at the current state of Esports today, it continues to arise and grow across the whole world. The growth of esports has been measured through viewership growth trends and the amount of revenue brought in from the people who watch. Gamers and esports enthusiast come from a numerous of different countries in every continent like Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. In the United States, "North America is set to hit $300 million in esports revenue this year, while Europe is expected to reach $138 million, per PwC estimates. The rest of the world only accounts for about 15% of total esports revenue, but it contains several regions to watch," according to Insider Intelligence. (Intelligence, 2022) And as esports is growing globally, investors, brands, stakeholders, and other industries outside of esports all around the world have become a part of the esports scene through endorsements and sponsorship deals. "Just like traditional professional sports, esports teams have owners, franchises, endorsement deals, cash prizes from tournament winnings, and more—all contributing to their annual revenue and total valuation." Right now, when it comes to the current state of esports as a whole, the revenue numbers continue to climb past billions, viewership numbers are reaching new heights, and more and more companies are becoming more invested into esports. "Newzoo, one of the most trusted market analysts, recently released a report suggesting that revenue for esports has been on an upward slope for the last couple of years. In 2022, this figure is expected to rise to 557 million, out of which 250 million are considered to be esports enthusiasts."
Impact of Esports
Following up with the current state of the esports industry, over the years esports has had major positive impacts on people everywhere. From the professionals winning millions in an esports arena, down to the casual gamer playing in their room for fun. Esports has opened up opportunities for passionate gamers, content creators, broadcasters, developers, and more to change their lives. "Esports has hit this stratosphere in large part because of the social component of live streaming and gaming. Video gaming-specific streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube Gaming give fans a direct connection to the players and teams, while more mainstream socials have allowed those connections to flourish." Through socialization online and in person events, esports have given players a way to establish friendships and a connection with other players. As bonds like these spreads across countries, gaming communities are created, gaming organizations are created, content creation groups are created, and then we get an entire population of gamers and more that are all a part of the esports scene which is how it creates an overall positive impact on all of the players. Over the past four years, gamers and non-gamers alike have been influenced and positively impacted by professionals and content creators in the esports scene. Esports teams that are at the highest level like TSM, FaZe Clan, and Cloud9 influenced younger players to want to compete at a higher level and earn money as they play their favorite games. Content creators in the esports scene generally make videos, live streams, host tournaments, and do more for the gaming community. This gets people involved in competitions, communities, and helps them become more connected with other streamers and players as well. Speaking as content creator and esports enthusiast, I can say this is a major part of how esports can make a huge impact anyone's life. Esports has also had a very positive impact on other companies that invest in it. At esports in person events or even online tournaments, games will have their game partnering with a company to promote their product, typically a gaming product. For example, the company SteelSeries partnered with the game Brawlhalla for an event where players could get exclusive items related to their brand. Endorsement deals and partnerships between gamers, esports teams, streamers, and video game companies have made an enormous impact on both parties and resulted in propelling the esports industry in its entirety.
Biggest Takeaways
Before getting further in depth, it's important for people not involved in esports to understand the why people play and reasoning behind esports has grown to such high level. Firstly, as I previously mentioned, esports is about competition, entertainment, and the community. Looking from the competitive point of view, players get to compete in the game they love and get paid for it! Being a part of an esports team and play in front of thousands of people is thrilling and it's the best feeling in the world when you win, and everyone is cheering for you. Secondly, not everyone is able to make it to such a highly competitive level, and so they participate in the entertainment side of esports. Entertainment involves streamers, broadcasters, or any kind of content creator that makes content for viewers entertainment. People that take this route also get paid for making content for viewers, and it has become a major part of esports because it helps games progress forward into maintaining a player base. Looking from a community standpoint could be many different things. For example, casual players who enjoy the game, casual viewers who watch the games, coaches, designers, artists, and editors are all examples of roles in any gaming community that people take part as. Because there are so many ways to participate in esports, it can be looked at as an open and welcoming environment for people who have never been involved before. Lastly, one of the biggest takeaways that you can get from esports is socialization. Which is a concept I've mentioned multiple times throughout the entire blog. Socialization is one of the major deep cores of esports because it is absolutely necessary for esports to thrive. With the millions of players, and billions of watchers, esports has been able to grow through people socializing with each other and creating sincere bonds.
Future of Esports
In my very first blog post I included an infographic demonstrating the predicted audience growth of esports in the future. Specific statistics can be found in Esports: Not all Fun and Games blog post. Looking on more than just the esports audience, the new generation of players is continuing to grow and is making up the majority of the gaming market. According to the Newzoo report, generation alpha and generation Z "Not only invest more leisure time, but they are more likely to spend money on games and engage with gaming in many diverse ways outside of playing. Gaming has become part of their everyday lives as they also look to games for many other reasons."
Right now, we are in "golden age" of esports because of how it has evolved and expanded over time. According to Intenta Digital, "The global esports audience number will pass 500 million in 2022 and reach 577.2 million by 2024." (The Future of Esports 2022) Esports has also evolved into getting more women involved into esports as well by creating leagues exclusively for women. (The problem with women in Esports 2022) Another huge way esports may evolve is having it become an Olympic sport. "The 2022 Commonwealth Games in the UK will include esports as a pilot event for the first time. Esports is also making its debut at the 2022 Asian Games in China, featuring games such as DOTA 2, League of Legends and EA Sports FIFA." Also, according to Intenta Digital, "We predict an esports Olympics event in future. The International Olympic Committee has said 2024 is “premature” to include esports, but the door is open for 2028." To conclude, the main concepts of esports are juggled between entertainment, competition, and the community. Each of these uphold the entirety of the esports industry and it's how everything goes down in the behind the scenes of esports.
NC Esports Insider 