Esports: A Dynamic, Fast-Growing Industry

Introduction

From its infancy the 1980s in the form of arcade video gaming, electronic sports (or "esports") has seen rapid growth in recent years with the advancement in technology and the internet. Briefly, esports are competitive tournaments organized for video game players involving audiences that watch video gamers compete against each other, similar in many ways to the experience of viewing a professional sports event. Esports events comprise competitive leagues and tournaments. Online livestreaming platforms like Twitch have brought esports content to global audiences on a scale that would have been unimaginable in its early days.

Esports is reported to have been worth roughly US$1 billion in 2019, and is projected to grow 400% in the next seven years to US$4.28 billion by 2027, according to Data Bridge Market Research. Total esports viewership is expected to grow at a 9% compound annual growth rate between 2019 and 2023, up from 454 million in 2019 to 646