Esports or Electronic sports is about online gaming turned into a competitive sport. It depicts the actual professional sports competition, but instead of watching a physical event, the viewers watch the competitors brawl out in a video game. From the early start of eSports during the 1990s to today’s technological advances, such as the internet for connectivity and spectator mode for immersive watching, eSports grew prominent today.
Furthermore, platforms for gaming such as personal computers, mobile phones, PlayStation, etc., and viewing platforms such as Twitch, Facebook Gaming, Mixer, etc., led to accessibility not just for viewership but also to get people into gaming. People started to organize tournaments for competitive play and continued to evolve as big as it is now.
Key Players in the Industry
The eSports scene has become prevalent in recent years of its success in arenas and tournaments across the globe. The recent eSports market report shows that eSports as a business scales up to $1.5 billion in the market as of 2020. All thanks to the major players of the eSports Industry, which are the eSports organizations, publishers, organizers, content platforms, esports news, and broadcasters, etc.
These people invested both their time and money in the endeavor of this fast-paced and entertaining industry. Major players and esports operators such as Major League Gaming (MLG), Dreamhack, Activision Blizzard, Riot, etc., host games such Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, Dota 2, etc. These games average to ten to a hundred million monthly active players, who become the backbone of the esports industry. Especially League of Legends, wherein it is a staple 100 million monthly active players, these players are likely to become eSport athletes, followers, viewers, organizers, etc. The industry will die without these critical players, just like in professional sports; the player base and its people are essential.
Economics of Esports’ Growth
In scaling the scope of the industry’s reach and growth, eSports can break down its viewership and income to these numbers. Twitch is the pioneer and leader of the eSports streaming site and platform for tournaments and content creation. Upon the acquisition of it by Amazon, it has beaten google with its 100 million monthly viewers. Furthermore, beating Youtube’s average viewership time, Twitch’s viewers spend one hour and 46 mins of daily usage. Next base from its demographic comprising mostly millennials aged 16-34 years old, it is undeniable that the revenues injected into the eSport are pouring and growing. This source of income comes from things such as sponsorships, media rights, merchandise, publisher fees, products, etc.
Moreover, due to the games’ popularity and the millions of profits it gains, the eSport scene now functions like physical sports leagues. Its system is similar to physical sports, wherein players are scouted and compensated by the operators for their labor. The distributors and organizers then compensate operators for the rights to broadcast games to an audience which then is paid by the audience for the right to watch. Along with this economic flow, eSports is injected with money from its advertisers, partners, sponsors featured during the games.
According to the Newzoo Global Esports Market Report (2016), the global amount of revenue that eSports attained in 2016 was $493 million, and the following year 2017, it was said to rise to $696 million (+41.3% year on year). Most of the revenue streams came from the sponsors and advertisers where it amounted to $266 million (sponsorship) and $155 million (Advertising). These numbers, along with the projections, are expected to rise since big brands are eyeing the eSports economic system due to its popularity and business potentials. Brands such as Samsung (Sponsor’s one of the best teams in Korea), Coca-Cola (Major sponsor in League of Legends and has a massive reputation in the eSports scene), Intel (Sponsors tournament series, Intel Extreme Masters, of games such as CS: GO, LOL, Starcraft), Red Bull, ESPN, etc. This paradigm of sponsorship, viewership, signing of players, advertising, and the like builds the eSports economic ecosystem wherein a large sum of money is injected into the industry’s growth.
Esports in the Philippines
The Philippines is not new in eSports since it is a growing industry in the country, with games such as Wild rift, Mobile Legends, Dota 2, etc. The Dota Major Championships International 2016 and ESL One Dota tournament, where the Philippines hosted and capitalized on a big eSports event. Quoting Sen. Bam Aquino that eSport is the next big thing, being an avid fan of eSports, he believes that these hostings can help eSports and Video game development in the local industry. Further being second among the largest number of Mobile Legends Players second after Indonesia gave the birth to the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL).
This tournament is one of the most prestigious mobile games competitions in Southeast Asia. As of now, many organizations and rising stars are being signed and created as this market expands. Another eSports game, Valorant a fresh game of riot the creators of League of Legends. On August 22, 2021, a Filipino team, Bren eSports, managed to win a circuit towards its global major while amassing support from the Filipino player base. This begs to question on how to look at the phrase that our mothers say, “Kakakompyuter mo yan,” because of how big this growing industry is. With the threat of the pandemic, many people resulted in online gaming, thus having a more affluent players base wherein talents could rise. Training for a future career in online gaming, these testing and sedentary time could prove viable as things are now. The future is bright; the eSports industry will further grow exponentially as the engagements and investments make it the next big thing.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Written by: Leo Christian Llanita
Layout and Design by: Ian Ramos
Comments