Christina Gough
Research expert covering sports and video gaming
eSports market - statistics & facts
The rapidly growing phenomenon surrounding eSports continues to gather steam. The intersection of gaming and sports offers an innovative wave of branding opportunities, engaging content and activations for millions across the world. It therefore comes as no surprise that the size of the global eSports market is expected to increase more than fivefold between 2023 and 2032, reaching a value of over 10 billion U.S. dollars within the next ten years.
Where are the biggest eSports markets?
Revenues within the eSports industry come from betting, prize pools and tournaments, and sponsorship and advertising. According to Statista Market Insights, the United States was the biggest eSports market worldwide in 2023, accounting for revenues of over 870 million U.S. dollars. The industry shows no signs of slowing down within the North American country, as the number of eSports users in the U.S. was forecast to more than double from under 32 million in 2020 to over 65 million in 2028. Across the other side of the world, the eSports market is also booming in Asia. In 2023, eSports market revenue in East Asia was highest in China, with South Korea also proving to be a hotspot for this online pursuit.What are the most popular eSports games and tournaments?
Some of the most popular games among eSports players and fans include battle royale titles such as Fortnite and League of Legends. In fact, the latter was the most watched eSports game worldwide in 2023, racking up over 590 million viewing hours combined across the whole year. League of Legends also topped the charts when it came to the most watched eSports tournaments in 2023. The World Championship in that year, which saw eSports organization T1 emerge victorious against Weibo Gaming in the grand final, was watched by a peak audience of 6.4 million viewers.How much money is there to be made in eSports?
Given the immense popularity of games such as these across the world, official eSports tournaments are able to offer huge jackpots for the best players in the world. The cumulative prize pools for five different eSports games exceeded 15 million U.S. dollars in 2023, offering transformative sums of money to professional gamers. As a result of the increasing money in the market, the top players in the world are able to make a living from video games, something which would have been almost unthinkable in past decades. Among the leading eSports players worldwide was Johan Sundstein from Denmark, also known as N0tail, who accumulated earnings into the millions of U.S. dollars thanks to his success playing online battle arena game, Dota 2. In a market that is very male-dominated, female eSports players still earn considerably less, with Sasha Hostyn, known as Scarlett, having recorded the highest earnings out of any female eSports gamer. All in all, with the constantly growing eSports market, the earnings are bound to grow and attract masses of new, skilled players.
