
Esports and Sports Sector - Thematic Research
Description
Esports and Sports Sector - Thematic Research
Summary
An analysis of Esports in the Sports Sector provides a detailed, yet easy to follow overview of the esports industry in the sports sector, including a look at the key leaders in the industry and a detailed analysis of the esports value chain.
Interest in esports is booming - Esports is the fastest-growing theme in the gaming sector. These organized multiplayer video game competitions have enjoyed spectacular growth over the last decade, with thousands of fans filling stadiums to watch live events and millions following them on streaming platforms. Although esports currently caters to a niche audience, in 2025 the global audience of esports is expected to be over 318 million. In 2022, the global esports industry was valued at more than 1.4 billion. This is nearly a 50% increase from 2021.
Olympic Esports Games - The Olympic organizing body, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), suggested towards the end of 2023 that it was exploring plans to create an Olympic Esports Games. The younger generations have a new way of thinking, and their lives are lived very digitally. Therefore, as the IOC President pointed out, this must not be ignored. What it might include and how it would be formatted is yet to be revealed. With that being said, introducing esports to the Olympic movement could potentially expose esports to an audience who never would have watched otherwise. The path of esports is mirroring the rise of action sports.
The market will continue to grow - According to Newzoo, the esports market saw a slight decline in 2022, however, it began to recover in 2023 and it is expected that this trend will continue through 2024. In terms of how the esports market will develop, mobile gaming is expected to grow, offering greater accessibility across a range of devices. The mobile gaming esports industry saw two years of decline from 2021 to 2023 due to difficult market conditions, especially around user acquisition. However, mobile gaming is likely to recover. With mobile gaming being a newer feature of esports, the mobile esports market is expected to grow to over $5.4 billion by 2030, according to Statista. Game consoles have seen major improvements, as the industry is seeing newer video games with sharper and more innovative features that will require adaptation from esports players. However, game consoles will struggle to compete in the long-term with PCs and mobiles, which are the most preferred devices for esports players.
Winners - Below we identify some of the companies that will benefit from esports’ growing popularity, classified by their position in the esports value chain -
- Games: Tencent, Valve, Epic Games, Microsoft (Activision Blizzard), Ubisoft, and Krafton (PUBG).
- Events: Valve, Microsoft (Activision Blizzard), Tencent, and Axis Sports.
- Channels: Amazon (Twitch), Alphabet (YouTube), DouYu, and Huya.
- Teams: Team Liquid, OG, Team Spirit, and Evil Geniuses.
- Sports teams and leagues: PSG, Man City, Phoenix Suns, Formula One, NBA
Who should buy
Investors who are attempting to understand the current dynamics of esports in the sports sector and industry professionals who want a detailed analysis on the sector' key trends, market size, and growth forecast.
Scope
This report provides an overview of esports in the sports sector, including the key leaders, a look at some of key trends, an analysis of the industry in terms of market size and growth forecasts, and also a in-depth analysis of the esports value chain and its key players.
Reasons to Buy
For those wanting an in-depth analysis of esports in the sports sector.
Table of Contents
48 Pages
- Executive Summary
- Players
- Thematic Briefing
- What is esports?
- Case studies for esports games
- League of Legends
- Counter-Strike
- Dota 2
- Valorant
- Comparison between highest paying esports events
- Case studies and sports leagues
- Formula One
- Premier League
- Lower league and European football
- NBA
- Trends
- Technology trends
- Macroeconomic trends
- Regulatory trends
- Industry analysis
- Market size and growth forecasts
- Esports has six different revenue streams
- The esports audience is growing rapidly
- While esports has grown, it remains some way off professional sports teams
- Competitive Analysis
- Timeline
- Value Chain
- Games
- Game developers and publishers
- Events
- Organizers
- Event management software providers
- Internet service providers
- Event analytics tool providers
- Teams and players
- Teams
- Players
- Talent agencies
- Training analytics tool providers
- Channels
- Streaming platforms
- TV networks
- News services
- Social networks
- Sponsorship and investment
- Brands
- Investors
- Marketing agencies
- End-users
- Women in esports
- Companies
- Further Reading
- GlobalData reports
- Glossary
- Our Thematic Research Methodology
- About GlobalData
- Contact Us
- List of Tables
- Table 1: Technology trends
- Table 2: Macroeconomic trends
- Table 3: Regulatory trends
- Table 4: Companies
- Table 5: GlobalData reports
- Table 6: Glossary
- List of Figures
- Figure 1: Who are the leading players in the esports theme, and where do they sit in the value chain?
- Figure 2: The highest-paying esports event by prize pool
- Figure 3: Global esports revenue
- Figure 4: Sponsorship fees remain the largest revenue for esports, accounting for 61% of the total
- Figure 5: The growth of the esports audience
- Figure 6: Global live-streaming esports audience will eclipse 1.4 billion by 2025
- Figure 7: TSM is the most valuable esports team, with a value of over $500 million
- Figure 8: Esports hours watched exponentially increased during the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Figure 9: The esports story
- Figure 10: The esports value chain
- Figure 11: The esports value chain – games - Game developers and publisher
- Figure 12: The esports value chain – events - Organizers
- Figure 13: The esports value chain – events - Event management software providers
- Figure 14: The esports value chain – events - Internet service providers
- Figure 15: The esports value chain – events - Event analytics and providers
- Figure 16: The esports value chain – Teams and players - Teams (by performance, 2023)
- Figure 17: The esports value chain – teams and players - Players (by overall earnings)
- Figure 18: The esports value chain – teams and players - Talent agencies
- Figure 19: The esports value chain – teams and players - Training analytics tool providers
- Figure 20: The esports value chain – channels- Streaming platforms
- Figure 21: The esports value chain – channels - TV Networks
- Figure 22: The esports value chain – Channels - News services
- Figure 23: The esports value chain – Channels - Social networks
- Figure 24: The esports value chain – sponsorship and investment - Brands
- Figure 25: The esports value chain – sponsorship and investment - VC Investors (by deal volume, February 2024) )
- Figure 26: The esports value chain – sponsorship and investment - Marketing agencies
- Figure 27: Our five-step approach for generating a sector scorecard
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