E-Sports: The Brainchild of Business and Gaming

One of the most profitable undertakings in the 21^st century was no doubt E-Sports. None could have speculated the grandeur E-sports commands now, what began as a means for gaming developers to sell video games exploded into a grand venture which draws millions of viewers. It went from being played in the comforts of the home to grand arenas with 50,000 seating, truly an ostentatious rise of an industry.

A Multi-Sector Growth Beneficiary

E-sports like most entertainment-centred businesses rely on the capability of an event to draw viewership. This industry has grown in tandem with the semiconductor industry which in turn spiralled the growth of microprocessors, graphic processors and basically everything that goes inside a CPU. The widespread ease of access to the internet only fuelled its growth even more. It can be said the gaming industry was present in the right place when the technological revolution was taking place, truly a meteoric rise.

E-sports is broadly defined as playing games in an organized or semi-organized format with specific prizes given to victors, usually a title with cash prizes handed over. If this was the only case of generating revenue it would be a huge loss to the participating gamers as only the victors would make money. However this is not the case, e-sport athletes and casual gamers with a huge fan following on social networks are often sought out to market their products which can be software like a game or any product. The marketer’s value is directly proportional to the audience he/she attracts which is a huge driving factor for sales. Popular gamers act as social media influencers which is a revolution in the advertising industry as it helps in addressing target demographic in the most effective way.

The Driving Factors in Generating Revenue

The e-sport industry’s main sponsors range from beverage vendors to chip makers. League of Legends, DOTA 2, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) are the games with the largest player bases. Their tournaments arguably draw the largest audiences, the combined viewership from streaming, stadium viewing, and media rights amounts to more than half a billion dollars, with numbers rivalling even the famous NFL Superbowl.  

This industry gained traction in SEA and spread to the whole world, though gaming as a career was frowned upon, the perception is slowly changing, though the competition is rampant, the barrier to entry is low, and anyone with a smart-phone or a PC with streaming software installed can be a gamer, their gaming skills combined with their charisma as an individual with entertaining commentary is certain to draw an audience base.

A Safe Haven

One major reason why e-sports growth has been so monumental is because of the efforts taken to raise awareness about it. The audience for e-sports was speculated to be around less than a million in 2015 according to some reports. The growth compounded in the wake of the pandemic, gaming presented itself as a refuge for a lot of individuals, and this was one of the few industries which thrived from the onslaught of the merciless pandemic.

The Stage that Showcases the Brilliant Talents

Twitch and YouTube Gaming are the major online players which act as a platform for players to connect to their audience, the increased internet user base over the decade and their smart-phone friendly interface has garnered the largest audience for streamers and audience alike and their partnership program enables eligible creators to generate revenue from the generated ads.

A Game

If the concept of making money from just playing games was pitched two decades ago, they would have been dismissed saying the dreamer was living in “A Game”, fast forward to today’s date, it’s one of the largest revenue generators, top gamers are paid in numbers that some people can only dream of. The astronomical growth from a sector which was deemed “waste of time” is now a major contributor to the economy. The relatively easy barrier can allow anyone to grab a piece of the billion-dollar pie, but it’s that ease of access which has saturated the market, it’ll take tremendous grit, charisma, wit and the love for gaming to make a name for yourself in this space.