What‘s with all the fuss about Esports?
Esports represents electronic sports or competitive gaming. Esports is a rapidly growing industry and is on track to be a 1 billion dollar industry by the end of 2020, with a total viewership of 500 million people.
Though COVID-19 has hindered several brick and mortar businesses, the digital side is growing since people have mostly been at home. And while looking for things to do around the house, many find themselves trying out different games.
But where does the money for Esports come from?
Esports, just like any other traditional sport, is a spectator sport where money is made the same. The income comes from sponsorships, media rights, ticketing, merchandise, digital media and content, and live streaming.
Here is a breakdown of three main categories for those that contribute to the Esports industry:
Publishers or the ones that create the game
The publishers are those that create the game as this is a form of marketing. This also allows a way for these publishers to connect with the community of players that support their games. They have full control of IP rights, and dictate what can and cannot be done with a game. Their main role is to make sure the game is running smoothly and to create new ways for players to enjoy the game. After all, if there were no games, then Esports wouldn’t even exist, right?
Tournament organizers
These people create third party tournaments when the publishers aren’t capable of doing so. These tournaments are created for different levels – Grassroots, Pro-Am, and professional events. Locally, we already have several different organizers for different games. This includes a televised franchise league where teams compete in games such as Mobile Legends, DoTA 2, and Tekken 7.
Gaming teams
These teams are those that compete in the tournaments. Their main goal is to win and become the best of the best. Teams have been more commonly founded by actual players that make the transition into business roles when they’re done competing.
Contrary to popular belief, the majority of the team’s revenue isn’t from tournament prize money. Most of it would usually go to the players, while the team would get a smaller management cut.
So where do they get their revenue? Most of it would come from their different sponsorships and merchandise sales.
Some of the Esports players, whether professional or individual, are able to build reputable brands for themselves. We could even call them the new generation of internet celebrities as these streamers have millions of followers. They can earn a profit similar to the way traditional celebrities do. Nowadays, we have celebrities who are proud gamers and some even invest in esports teams as they can see the potential of the industry.
Why are so many people hooked on Esports now?
Esports is fun because of the uncertainty that comes with it. There are several changes made within the games to keep it challenging for the players. Other than those hooked on the games, there are those that are interested in the business side as this industry is on the rise.
Here are three things Lars Hernandez, Co-founder and COO of Overdrive Creative Studios, learned from gaming and being an entrepreneur in the Esports industry:
- It’s okay to fail. In gaming alone, you don’t win every match which is fine. We all have our own fair shares of failure and it is important that we move on from it.
- Never stop learning. If you fail, learn why you failed. If you succeed, understand what you did to do so. We are gifted with such advanced technology and we need to make the most of it. As they say “Knowledge is power”, which is now just one google search away.
- Last but not the least, Have fun. It’s so easy to get lost in your goals and trying to succeed, we tend to forget the reason why we started doing it in the first place.
This introduction to Esports is just a fraction of what it really is. As you can see, not only is Esports all about gaming, but there are a lot of other opportunities to grow within this industry.
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