eSports – the rapid growth of a young but popular industry

ESports is a form of organized sports competition played electronically, which has its set of professional players, playing as a team or individually. Just like football players play football together, eSports players play computer games against each other, competitors from different leagues or teams face off in the same game. But it doesn’t take place inside living rooms alone between friends and family which are popular with at home gamers such as Fortnight, Counter-Strike, Over watch and Madden NFL, Call of Duty, League of Legends, Battle Royal Games, StarCraft, Street Fighter, among many others.

Huge eSports tournament are organized and takes place all over the world in big areas with large crowds. Tournaments such as the League of Legends World Championship, Dota 2’s International, the fighting games specific Evolution Championship Series (EVO), and the Intel Extreme Masters provides live broadcasts of the competition and prize money to competitors. The legitimacy of eSports as a sports competition remains in question, even though eSports has been featured alongside traditional sports in multinational events and the International Olympic Committee has explored incorporating them into future Olympic events.

Each business is unique and may seem like it needs to follow a certain regulation or obtain a license, but when you take a closer look and understand the technical side of the project, one can often see that this is not the case. It is a well-known fact that EU licenses are expensive, demand a certain amount of money for initial capital, costs, and qualified human resources, to get it. My strategy is making a project compliant without having to obtain a respective license if it’s not necessary.

What is the coordinating body for eSports ?

In 2016, it was announced that eSports would be getting an official organization called the World eSports Association, to be in charge of the sports just as FIFA is in charge of football, but in 2017 the National Association of College Esports NACE was recognized as the governing body. In summer it was revealed that the UK would be getting its first 24-hours TV channel dedicated completely to eSports. 

Who watches eSports?

These games are watched and followed by millions, according to a report from Newzoo, a market analytic company, 380 million people worldwide was estimated to have watched eSports in 2018, including 165 million eSports enthusiasts, (describing frequent viewers as opposed to occasional viewers) while the 2017 League of Legends World Championship drew more than 80 million views, making it one of the most popular eSports competition ever. In 2019, it was estimated to record an amazing growth in eSports viewers of 454 million fans all over the world with the bulk of these people domiciled and watching from North America, China, and South Korea. 

Who plays eSports?

eSports is played by both amateurs and professionals. Though not everyone who plays computer gaming considers it to be a sport, some people believe that sports should involve being more physically active, while others thinks that even though it may not be as physical athletic as tennis or rugby but the skill involved suggests that it can be considered a sports, hence Professional eSports players are mostly required and selected during leagues and tournaments. Infact more than 50 colleges have varsity eSports Programs recognized by the governing body, the National Association of Collegiate Esports.

Where is the money in eSports?

According to research conducted by Newzoo, the revenue was estimated to reach $906 million worldwide in 2018, and would also increase tremendously to over US$1 billion in 2019. Not only that the players would be rewarded excellently, but brand dealers and video games producers will enjoy their franchise from the lucrative market as well. Tournaments can boast millions of dollars in monetary prize, which is typically split between the players on the winning team. This means that the world eSports top players can easily earn seven figures in a year. Teams and organizers also benefit from the sales of tickets for these competitions that in 2017, League of Legend tournament generation a whopping $5.5 million in tickets sales. Players also earn money from sponsorships, endorsements and league salaries.

Streaming platforms such as YouTube and Twitch channels have become media platform central for the promotion and growth of eSports competitions that by the end of 2018, 1.6 billion people was estimated to have the knowledge of eSports. That’s one fifth of the world population already. Since exciting changes are happening by the day as technology improves, eSports would keep on growing.

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