Posted by. Posted on: at.
Esports is moving. After decades of slow development, the industry has finally arrived as a major mainstream media sector. With so much development and profitability in such a short period of time, it can be difficult to know where the industry is going. As a result of this, we take a look here at some key trends that we can expect to see play out in this advanced sector over 2022.
Audience Increase
The global esports industry has been growing steadily over the last decade, but with unprecedented global events reaching the early 2020s the industry began to fill in. to the traditional sports department. This led to an increase in audience numbers, which for the first time made it a major public awareness and attraction. This trend has only continued over the intervening years, and as of 2022, the global esports industry is worth approximately $ 2 billion, up from just $ 250 million in 2015.
Audience numbers have risen similarly, with around 500 million viewers expected to listen to live esports competitions and events in 2022, an increase of 112% on 2015. – year-on-year growth up to 2025. With this increase in audience and the wider adoption of the esports industry by the traditional sports sector, many unique elements of the latter are gaining ground in the world of competitive games. One prime example of this is the growing popularity of esports with major book buyers. Prestigious platforms such as SBO now actively seeking to expand the number and variety of esports events they cover alongside regular sports tournaments ranging from the NFL to the English Premier League. It’s a sure sign that esports has reached world class, and that it’s great for the industry ensuring steady and steady growth in the years to come.
Larger Prize Pools
One obvious trend we can see from the years is that prize pools for esports events have been steadily growing over time. Every year Blizzard-Activision regularly posted the biggest awards in the industry with their DOTA 2 event, The International. A key element driving this growth is the award-winning crowdfunding collection. This means that as more fans take part in the event, The International’s prize money, on balance, will grow as a net result.
While this was previously an effective strategy to ensure that DOTA 2 champions have access to a share of the prize fund that is now coming in at more than $ 40 million as of 2021, as key carriers Increasingly, trusts and organizations view the sector as a viable marketing opportunity. meaning that these sums will be common for too long. After all, compared to conventional sports tournaments like the US Open golf, we see that esports prize money is still relatively small right now. So it’s safe to assume that as the industry continues to grow through 2022, reward pools will be at an all – time high. It remains to be seen, however, whether the International, such as the Fortnite World Cup or the PUBG Global Invitational DOTA 2 crown will steal a competition to The International.
Better access to training
As the industry continues to develop, a new generation of esports enthusiasts is waiting in the wings and desperately looking for opportunities to compete and train in their chosen games. In response to this growing demand, exclusive competitive game coaches are becoming increasingly popular online through platforms such as Twitch. This trend is particularly based in South Korea and other parts of East Asia, where gaming gyms are not uncommon. These centers feature high-quality internet connections and high-end game hardware, and allow gamers to hone their skills under the guidance of one-on-one personal trainers. In 2022 we can expect demand for these services to grow globally, and we are likely to start seeing such games gyms open doors in major western urban centers. In addition to games gyms, a number of prominent esports teams have developed specialized game academies in which they train future esports athletes in a targeted environment. These, too, are becoming more common across the globe as more and more players get financial support and turn professional.