A few years back, the simple idea of playing video games for a living was nothing more than every geeky kid’s pipe dream. Imagine if, in your personal job descriptions the first thing that would read would be “professional video game player”, not too shabby at all.
Well in 2020, the eSports industry, explained in a nutshell as the competitive organized video game industry is positioning itself as a stronger and stronger player in the professional sports industry. Not only that, but the idea of Esports Betting is also becoming quite the activity, mainly in part due to COVID 19 and its effects on actual sports. So why are eSports so popular?
What are eSports?
As mentioned before, eSports is the name given to the competitive organized video game industry. Competitors from teams or leagues from around the world go head to head against each other in games that you could perfectly be playing at home right now, only without making some absurd amounts of cash while doing it. Games such as Fortnite, League of Legends, COD (Call of Duty), Counter-Strike, and of Course Madden NFL to name just a few are some of the top titles being played by gamers who are followed and watched by millions of fans all across the globe be it by going to actually live competitions or watching them either on TV or online.
Now, if you’re still thinking that this is still a kid’s thing, think again. It is estimated that since 2018 up until today, the number of fans has dabbled roughly from 300 to 495 million people. Yes, you’re reading right, almost half a billion people filling seats, in this case cyber seats to watch their favorite gamers go at it for a shot at eGlory we could say.
It’s not just kid’s games
The Top Online Betting Site states that indeed esports have made their way from being a hobby style activity to becoming a legal, professional sports league. ESports revenue for 2020 are a mere 50 million dollars away from cracking the 1 billion dollar mark. It is not unusual for tournaments to boast millions of dollars in prize money with the prizes usually being split between players on the winning teams.
All of this means that on a good season, the top players in different leagues can be looking at seven-figure salaries per year, for playing video games. But it’s not just the players who are benefiting, teams, sponsors, and event organizers are also raking in big bucks with a cool 52,5 million dollars a year made through merchandise and ticket sales for competitions alone. Gaming fans are all about the eSports lifestyle and their loyal following of teams and gamers as well as their continuous economic support of the industry just speaks volumes to the rise of professional video gaming.
Speaking of Followers
When we talk about 495 million people per year following this new up-and-coming sports trend we might even be just scratching the surface. It is expected that by the end of 2020 close to 2 billion people will at least have some sort of knowledge of this industry. With popular streaming platforms such as Twitch allowing fans to watch their favorite gamers play in real time the rise of this industry is in a constant move.
Gamers are becoming just as popular as regular pro athletes. Just like NBA or NFL stars, pro video gamers also get endorsement deals and being treated as pro athletes with teams having their own training facilities equipped with trainers, chefs and other support staff personnel to make their job of gaming that much easier.
If we take the previously mentioned numbers and the momentum both cultural and popular that eSports are going through and will continue to go through as time goes by, the rise of this industry is inevitable. So maybe looking for that old Nintendo or Playstation you stored away or going out and buying a new console and getting back into gaming might not be such a bad idea right about now.
