How e-sports are expected to develop

There was a time when eSports was a hobby for a small group of enthusiasts. E-sports received limited coverage in the media and other sporting contexts and were virtually unknown to the general public. This is now a thing of the past as e-sports have taken off. SVT Play broadcasts the documentary series Yrke: gamer from neighbouring Norway, which depicts famous e-sportsmen and their successes and failures. Not so long ago, the Swedish eSports Federation was voted into the Swedish Sports Confederation after years of hard work and lobbying. At the political level, motions have been submitted by KD, among others, with arguments that e-sport should be equated with, and recognised as a sport. This is because studies from 2017 show that 191 million people engaged in the sport every week and audience records have been broken for e-sports events such as the Free Fire World Series with 5.4 million viewers in 2021. A lot has happened in e-sports in a relatively short time and it remains to be seen what the future holds. More on that in our post!

Looking back to predict the future

When talking about what might happen in esports in the next five to ten years, we can look back historically at similar industries to better develop hypotheses. In this respect, the casino industry is a good starting point for comparison in our view. The industry underwent a rapid transformation from the early 2000s to today. It went from land-based facilities to online digital platforms, with the same or identical range of classic casino games previously reserved for the physical casino, such as card and table games and roulette. Of course, e-sports are already digitised, so a radical transition from land to digital platform will not take place. However, parallels can be drawn to the casino industry in terms of the time factor, i.e. how quickly it is possible to fundamentally change an industry and alter the rules of the game for both operators and players.

Increased sponsorship

When industry experts predict the future of e-sports, they talk about the increasing importance of lucrative sponsorship deals. Branding is already happening in e-sports today as a way for companies to grow the market. In practice, this means, for example, that brands sponsor an e-sports event for increased reach and exposure. With the traction of major brands, e-sports in turn gain status and exposure to grow. Some major companies that have sponsored major eSports events to date include Twitch, Coca-Cola and Mercedes-Benz, with more major players expected to join the ranks in the future.

Larger prize pool

One thing that is already noticeable in e-sports, especially in international circles, is that the prizes for e-sports events are becoming more and more lucrative. As technology opens up e-sports to a wider audience, e-sports tournaments are getting bigger and attracting more players, viewers and sponsors. This of course also affects the ability of organisers to pay out larger and more exclusive prizes to their participants. In the long run, this will eventually lead to e-sports being more and more equal to other giants in traditional sports such as basketball and football with highly paid top players. More and more talent will become aware of e-sports and consider it as a potential career as it becomes more profitable to engage in e-sports.

The important work of eSports federations

Already today, local and international e-sports federations are playing an important role in promoting e-sports, creating programmes to nurture talent and ensuring its future. Their work is expected to grow and become more diverse. For example, some federations around the world offer legal advice to teams/players on everything from taxes to visas. An ecosystem that helps the sport to grow sustainably but at a steady pace is essential for eSports to increase its popularity and for external stakeholders to consider the sport worth investing in monetarily. The federations have also played a crucial role in ensuring that professionals such as coaches, dieticians, sports psychologists and other experts are at least as integral to eSports as 'normal' sports. More elements of traditional sport are expected to be transferred to e-sport in the future.