Lately, esports has been getting a lot of attention. Young gamers between 18 and 25 watch 34% more esports more than traditional sports. The massive rise in esports is that we live in the millennial age, consuming more television and radio. Esports is now in every corner of the world, and you can stream it on YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
By 2019, the esports market had an estimated worth of about a billion dollars, with market experts expecting the market to triple in the next decade. The growth is attributable to the industry’s continued adoption in various markets, including gambling on Betway88 where games like PUBG are household names.
According to some quarters, the esports market will rise beyond betting on Betway88 and surpass the future’s traditional sports market. Today, esports boasts of over 2.7 billion active players globally, with another 2 billion casually watching the games on the internet. Even better, market experts suggest that these numbers are only the beginning.
In the last ten years, esports has made huge moves evolving from a mostly underground culture to the primary industry. The esports industry has attracted many investors, such as Alexis Ohanian and Ashton Kutcher, both from Cuba. Interest in esports is drawing traditional sports figures such as David Beckham, Steph Curry, Shaq, and Rick Fox. Musicians like Wiz Khalifa, Drake, and Steve Aoki, and many others have gained much interest in esports. The industry offers many opportunities in its infrastructure, pro athletes, and teams to continue developing.
After factoring out a massive head start of the century-long traditional sports had, there is a lot to be excited about. The esports idea began in the year 2000 with video games tournaments available in the shopping malls. It was an eye-opening moment to see gigantic prize pools of modern-day titles such as Dota 2, which had a price tag of 4.3 million dollars. It was events like this that saw the video gaming industry’s massive growth to what it is today.
In 2019, Gavin Silver and his co-founder started all-star, a platform that allows casual gamers and esports athletes in the whole world to create and share professional highlights. With the assistance of investor mark Cuban, they have seen the massive growth of esports firsthand, accelerated by a stay at home rule this year. The esports attract a viewership of 500 million, making more than a half for the bigger market. According to Nielsen, the Gaming Video Content (GVC) worth was 6.5 billion dollars in 2019.
Unlike traditional sports, almost everyone who watches the game pays for the game. After participating in the tournament, the player can play their competitive matches and have their glory moments. For gamers, they do not have to maneuver the small space in their backyard or sit at home and watch traditional games without being involved actively. The esports fill the gap in terms of virtual infrastructure and provide the young generation who are the primary market for the esports industry.
Henry Lares is still early into his career as tech reporter but has already had his work published in many major publications including Tech Crunch and the Huffington Post. In regards to academics, Henry earned an engineering degree from Apex Technical School. Henry has a passion for emerging technology and covers upcoming products and breakthroughs in science and tech.