The word “Esports” is referred to as “electronic sports”. It is a form of video game to play for a competition. It can play in the form of multiplayer, individually, or between two professional players. Video gaming is one of the fast booming industries with millions of fans and billion dollars in revenue. Live events of the games with streaming services have been grasping the attention of many serious and professional players. Most of the youth taking it as their career and earning a seven-figure salary.

Esports became a major part of the video game business by the 2010s, with numerous game developers regularly designing and financing competitions and other activities. The most popular types are multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), First Person Shooting (FPS), Fighting, Battle Royale, and Real Time Gaming strategies. Whereas popular esports franchise includes League of Legends, Data, Counter-Strike, Valorant, Overwatch, Street Fighter, Super Smash Bros. and StarCraft, and many others. 

History of Esports

In the late 2010s, it was estimated by the professions that the audience of esports would tremendously increase to 454 million views. It would also generate maximum revenue of up to US 1 billion dollars. This increase was due to the availability of live streaming on several social sites. 

If we talk about history, the earliest video game competition was held by the Stanford University for the game Space war in 1972. The rise in popularity and availability of online streaming platforms has aided the development of esports during 2011, and they are now the most popular way to watch tournaments. Twitch, an American online streaming platform specially launched for esports competitions.

Video game developers are increasingly promoting the esports potential of their brands as a result of the modern esports revolution. Nintendo, Japanese multinational consumer electronics and video games headquarters, hosted an invitational competitive tournament in 2014 that was streamed online on Twitch. To help expand esports in Japan, the country’s largest independent esports league, Electronic Sports League, partnered with local brand Japan Competitive Gaming in 2014.

In 2017 and till now, the esports industry is booming all over the world. Sponsorships from world-known brands and high revenue generation are grabbing the attention of a large audience. According to Statista, the global size of video games is projected to grow to $200.8 billion by 2023.

High Revenue Generation

According to the report of Newzoo in 2018, viewers of online games are increasing up to 380 million worldwide. Most of the people were from South Korea, North America, and china. Tournaments and other live competitions against rivals from worldwide increase the attention level to esports.

The 2017 League of Legends World Championship attracted over 80 million spectators, making it one of the most-watched esports events of all time. ESPN and Disney XD revealed in July that they had signed a multi-year contract to broadcast the Overwatch League, a brand-new international league of 12 franchises based on the wildly successful multiplayer first-person shooter Overwatch.

In one report of Newzoo in 2018, the generated revenue was up to 906 million dollars and this revenue is increasing each year as the online gaming industry has shown a boom in aspects of 3d visual representations, artists, guns, and stories. Sponsorships, promotions, and league salaries are all sources of income for players.

Rise in Revenue

The idea of computer gaming, the way we play games has drastically changed, beginning with powerful graphics-oriented PCs and now with virtual reality headsets. The online gaming industry has also skyrocketed in terms of usage and success in just a few years. According to new forecasts, online gaming firms could generate $200 billion in sales by 2023, and the online gaming market as a whole is now the fastest growing in the world.

Future of Mobile Gaming

In 2019, mobile, which is currently the most popular gaming medium, produced $68.5 billion in revenue. These figures represent 45 percent of the overall market, which includes rivals such as PCs and tablets. Despite being a relatively young segment of the market, almost 2.4 billion people played smartphone games in 2019.

People continue to appreciate the smooth user interface and entertaining functionality, such as in-app transactions and loyalty offers. Now that the 5G revolution is on the way to become the modern standard, you should imagine pocket-sized game consoles growing ever larger by adding more entertainment creativity.

Mobile video game sales tended to outpace spending on consoles and PCs in 2020, increasing 26% from 2019 to $86 billion. Mobile gaming continues to be driven by the mass generation of smartphones and casual, free-to-play (F2P) games, which continue to draw new players.

Given the low barriers to entry through smartphones and the lack of incremental hardware costs, unlike PC and console systems, mobile gamer’s number in the billions. The PC market, which is mostly due to non-casual gamers, will rise at a 6% annual pace to $37 billion by 2020.

Video Games Growth in 2020

Throughout history, the computer game industry has had several watershed moments. There are currently eight distinct generations of console periods that we can recognize. The introduction of CD-based games rather than cartridges and the transition from Super Mario Bros.’s 2D universe to Grand Theft Auto V’s (3d) three-dimensions open new experiences in gaming. However, in 2020, video game developers are not only paying struggle to make virtual worlds but also as multi-faceted technology powerhouses and integrating gaming.

Last year, a series of activities stimulated the development of the video game industry. As a result of lockdown due to coronavirus, indoor games such as computer gaming have risen to mainstream culture. The same thing happened with esports. According to the new release stats, the rise in the gaming industry and its community contributed a huge amount of market revenue.  As a result, market revenue reached $175 billion in 2020, up 20% from 2019.

In the year 2020, video games offered experienced and amateur players an escape from difficult conditions through rivalry and communities. Last year’s success in the video game industry was a watershed moment, but it wasn’t the finish.

In 2021, community-driven user activity and monetization are expected to rise, with another year of record growth possible. For investors, we see this market as having plenty of room to thrive, thanks to many ways to monetize an increasingly growing and enthusiastic user base.