Future of Esports. What We Should Expect in the Nearest Years

In 2021, the esports world was developing by leaps and bounds. The tendency of annual growth of the esports industry is kept for over ten years. No doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted numerous plans as in many other fields.

However, the esports ecosystem partially avoided the consequences of COVID-19 restrictions. Besides, some companies coped with the situation successfully using universality and adaptivity of the digital esports environment.

From the viewpoint of the growth of the industry, 2021 became a worthy continuation of the strong 2020 proving the fact that esports is on the way of becoming mainstream. Due to the fact that many sports events were canceled, the best bookmakers had to think up new ways of attracting betters, especially to esports events.

In 2021, the global esports audience grew by 12% and made up 443 million people. Additionally, Europe was one of the hottest eSports spots right after Asia and North America. We should note that in parallel to the growth of esports, bettors’ interest to gambling is growing.

Research of the Market

To get a clearer understanding of the European esports market, there were two broad-scale surveys directed to various segments of the esports industry, participants of the market and representatives of companies from different fields.

In June 2020, there was a survey among 12 000 users from eight European countries to define the characteristics of the audience and also to track the influence of COVID-19 on users’ behaviour. About 1500 respondents from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland took part in the survey.

The second research based on the interview with companies and connected with esports was completed in June 2020. This selection of experts represents the fields of esports where the companies work: events, leagues and teams, media and online platforms, publishers and strategic partners.

Answering the Question

Answers to the expert survey make up a positive image. Interested sides reported about positive changes of the market. According to the survey, 77% of organizations claimed that they managed to increase the revenue in comparison with previous years that was accompanied with the growth of the number of users. This data proves rapid growth of the industry.

Investments

Representatives of the surveyed companies reports that their previous investments/sponsorship turned out to have positive outcome. Around 55% were satisfied by the results of the existing partnership. Another 18% think that their expectations were higher, and the other 27% were partially satisfied. It lets us expect further investors’ interest in esports.

COVID-19 Changes the Dynamics

Even though the market was growth-oriented in 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the dynamics of the esports world. The government restrictions related to the pandemic led to serious changes and affected the behaviour of users, which makes it difficult to make a long-term prediction.

Absence of traditional sports and entertainment events shifted the audience’s attention to esports. Despite the growth of the number of users, the economic influence of the pandemic is absolutely different for various segments of esports. While some organizations managed to continue and even widen their activity, others had to pause their work temporarily.

Therefore, even if it may seem that the esports sector coped with the crisis better than other fields, the figures show that simple conclusions should not be made. It will be interesting to see if the market of esports is going to flourish despite the COVID-19 pandemic, or maybe thanks to it.