Ten years ago esports was being hailed as the “sport of the future” by those in the know. Today the world has caught up and everyone is now beginning to understand the potential that esports holds.
But it’s no longer the sport of the future because esports is huge right now and it is not going away any time soon.
The size of esports industry
In 2017 estimates suggested that there were over 300 million esports fans all over the world, and if streaming services, video sharing sites, and eSport tournaments are anything to go by, that figure is much higher in 2020.
To put this into perspective, golf has over 450 million followers and is said to be the tenth biggest sport in the world. Esports have likely already exceeded that figure but it has something going for it that other sports don’t, something that transcends viewing figures.
Golf is a game played occasionally by roughly 5% to 10% of the population. Rugby, which has higher viewing figures, is played by even less. To play these sports you need to be relatively fit and you need to have the free time and social circle required to arrange and commit.
With esports you don’t need any of those things. Technically, every time you switch the Playstation on for five minutes of FIFA, you’re engaging in this sport, just like you would by playing a game of 5-a-side soccer with your friends. There are close to three billion video gamers in the world. Which actually means that more people partake in amateur esports than any other kind of sport.
This has massive potential for the growth of esports and that is why we are seeing many sports, leagues and tournaments being added to the roster every year. It’s something that even soccer can’t compete with and it’s what makes this industry so exciting and promising.
