A research company named, Newzoo, has published a global eSports market report for the year 2016. It's an 80-page report with details on the global and local eSports markets, since this report is not publically available and needs to be purchased; Newzoo, however, did release some interesting facts to the public eye.

According to the Newzoo's last year report, the revenues for the year 2015 were $325 million worldwide. This year's prediction sees the revenue growing to $463 million, which correlates to a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 43%. According to their long term prediction in the year 2019 eSport revenues will reach approximately a jaw-dropping $1.1 billion! The number of eSports Enthusiasts watching their favorite games will be 131 million, in addition, another 125 million Occasional Viewers will tune in mainly for the big international events.


Looking at it region wise, North America will strengthen its lead in terms of revenues while Asia will continue its explosive rate of increasing numbers in audience. Digging into the numbers, the US will see $175 million generate through merchandise, event tickets, sponsorships, online advertising and media rights. What is significant here is the fact that most of the revenues will flow back to the game publisher, earning them additional profits from the same game. Basically, one might not care, but only if it implies the publisher is ready to give back to the community and support their game in eSports through prize money, as we have seen recently done by Valve. Looking at Asia, we can see China and Korea leading the Asian region with 23% of global eSports revenues, totaling $106 million prediction for the present year. Viewership is rapidly picking up in Asian countries, more specifically that being 44% of global eSports Enthusiasts.


Wouter Sleijffers, CEO of Fnatic, comments:

Esports remains an industry with great potential for the years to come. Esports is a very diverse space, and for established and worldwide esports brands like Fnatic, it’s vital to follow the developments using reliable and complete data. Our partnership with Newzoo means that we can both stay on top of our game.

As is with all predictions, it is debatable how accurate they are but we can safely conclude that eSports is on the rise, especially business wise. It is now more evident than ever that the main focus of event organizers and game publishers will be on media coverage and advertisement. With streaming services reaching smartphones and other 'smart' gadgets you will seldom find yourself unable to follow your favorite eSport game. We can already see some traditional media companies entering this market and with Twitch being the biggest streaming service at the moment, it is going to be interesting to see how things will develop in the upcoming years. If the companies like ESPN and Red Bull start screening eSport games on TV, we might witness a big shift in the way eSport coverage will be handled in the future.

Links: Newzoo, Newzoo report