The prize of the first known video game tournament back in 1972 at Standford University was a 1-year subscription to pop-culture magazine, Rolling Stones. The world of eSports has since reached unprecedented heights and has made the industry one of the fastest-growing in the world. In 2020, it is estimated that eSports had an audience size of 436M with prizes now in the millions of dollars. Almost half of eSport’s current audience consider themselves eSports enthusiasts, with that figure set to grow even more in the coming years. According to data presented by Safe Betting Sites, the number of eSports Enthusiasts is projected to increase by over 32% by 2024 to more than 285M.
Half Of eSports Audience Consider Themselves eSports Enthusiasts
The eSports industry, and in a broader sense, the gaming industry, was already in the ascendancy prior to the pandemic riddled year of 2020. In 2019, there were an estimated 397.8M viewers of eSports, a figure that increased by almost 10% in 2020 to 436M. 50% or over 215M of that total consider themselves eSports enthusiasts while the other 50% consider themselves occasional viewers.
The number of eSports enthusiast is projected to increase by over 32% by 2024 amounting to 285.7M. The total audience size of eSports is projected to have a CAGR of 7.7% from 2019-2024, to a figure amounting to 577.2M by the end of the forecast period.
eSports Revenue Projected To Cross $1b In 2021 After Slight Dip In 2020 Due To Covid-19
The Coronavirus pandemic still caused the eSports industry’s revenue to decrease in 2020, albeit just marginally by 1% to 947M from 957M in 2019. This is a relative success considering most major industries experienced massive drops in revenue in 2020. It is also worth noting that gaming and eSports improved on many other vital industry metrics such as viewership and usage.
By 2021, the revenue from the eSports market is projected to recover and cross the $1B mark for a YoY increase of 14.5%. The revenue from the eSports market is expected to experience an 11.1% CAGR from 2019-2024 to a figure of 1.62B by the end of the forecast period.
