Esports Gaming Statistics
The esports gaming industry has been on an upward trajectory for some time now, showing impressive year-on-year growth and reaching a combined global audience of 495 million people in 2020. The industry’s growth was slowed somewhat in 2020 due to the global coronavirus pandemic putting a halt on many live events across the globe. The global esports market revenue has been predicted to hit $1.1 billion in 2020, but ultimately fell just short of this, bringing in $1.06 Billion instead.
Esports prize pools continue to rise though, with Fortnite offering the biggest 2020 prize pool with a combined prize pool of $10.3 million. The top ten esports tournaments offered a combined prize pool of $177 million in 2019 – so it is clearly still a huge and growing industry to be involved in.
The esports worldwide audience totalled over
The esports worldwide audience totalled over 495 million in 2020
the worldwide esports market revenue was worth
In 2020, the worldwide esports market revenue was worth $1.06 Billion
The League of Legends World Championship Finals reached a record-breaking
The League of Legends World Championship Finals reached a record-breaking 21.8 million Average Minute Audience
Fortnite had the biggest esports prize pool in the first half of 2020
Fortnite had the biggest esports prize pool in the first half of 2020 of $10.2 million
The Top 10 esports tournament prize pool totalled
The Top 10 esports tournament prize pool totalled $177 million as of November 2019
Global esports revenues will grow to
Global esports revenues will grow to $1.1 billion in 2020
Overview
Esports has moved on from being a niche industry that brought in a few thousand viewers for the biggest tournaments. Now, the worldwide esports audience totals over 495 million people, and is only expected to increase. One event, the Leage of Legends World Championship Finals, managed to pull in a record-breaking 21.8 million average minute audience when it aired in 2019.
Sources:Statista, Riot Games
​19% of U.S. gamers said they watch eSports live streams regularly, 19% said they watch it occasionally, and 9% of them said they watch it rarely. (Statista, 2017)​
- North America took the second largest share of the worldwide eSports market revenue in 2017, covering 34% of the shares. (Medium, 2017)
- Europe covered the third largest share of the worldwide eSports market revenue in 2017, taking up 26% of the shares. (Medium, 2017)
Market Leaders
As esports continues to branch out and grow as an industry, so do the games and teams involved, and the prize pots offered to winners. In 2017, Dota 2 accounted for the most distribution of annual prize pools, covering a total of 34.3% of the total worldwide prize pool. This has since been taken over by Fortnite that offered up a total of $64.42 million in prizes in 2019 compared to Dota 2’s $46.97 million.
Sources: Statista
- Fortnite offered the largest cumulative tournament prize pool in 2019 with $64.42 million in prizes
Top esports game by cumulative prize pool
Global esports market revenue
Unique viewers in top esports tournaments
Top esports teams by earnings
- Fortnite was the leading game in esports worldwide in 2019 based on a prize pool of $64.42 million
- N0tail is the leading esports player based on overall earnings with earnings totalling 6.89 million
- The number one player on Team Liquid (the highest-earning team) was MinD_ContRol, earning $4,461,280
- The highest-earning player of all time is N0tail, a Danish player who has earned $6,886,181.99 in all
- The highest-earning female esports player of all time is Scarlett, earning $333,456.35
Marketing & Advertising
As the world of esports continues to grow, more and more businesses want a slice of the pie. Because of this, we have seen the marketing and advertising side of esports grow alongside the industry over the last few years as well. Sponsorship and advertising spend has steadily increased from $124.41 million in 2017 to $277.29 million in 2019, and is expected to reach $634.03 million by 2023.
Sources: Statista
32% of the eSports fans as of May 2017 said that they would definitely try products shown during eSports games while 31% said they would somewhat agree with the statement. (Research Now, 2017)
Esports sponsorship and advertising spending worldwide
Esports market revenue worldwide
- IT/computer industries in the U.S. have the most number of eSports sponsorships between January 2016 and August 2017, with an approximate 360 instances in the said industry alone. (Cynopsis Media, 2018)
- There were approximately 60 instances of eSports sponsorships among online services in the U.S. between January 2016 and August 2017. (Cynopsis Media, 2018)
- There were approximately 100 instances of eSports sponsorships among retail in the U.S. between January 2016 and August 2017. (Cynopsis Media, 2018)
- 37% of eSports fan in the U.S. wish to see brands and companies giving away prizes for competitions and various eSports related events. (eSports Ad Bureau, 2017)
- 38% of eSports fans in the United States stated that they would like to see fun and humorous, or exciting content. (eSports Ad Bureau, 2017)
- 33% of the eSports fans as of May 2017 said that they don’t like in-game ad placements by brands while 30% somewhat agree with this statement. (Research Now, 2017)
Esport Betting
As the prize pools, and therefore the stakes, continue to rise in the world of esports, so does the world of esports betting. As with any sports, betting on the outcome of top esports tournaments is becoming a big business. While it still pales in comparison compared to sports betting, this is set to rise. In 2019, esports betting took up only 1.6% of sports betting, but by 2024 this is expected to 3.2%. Most of this betting takes place in Europe (with 44.5% share of the market) and Asia/ Middle East (with 40.7%).
Sources: igamingbusiness
The total bets of eSportsbook betting were expected to cover 92.6% of the estimated total amount wagered on eSports on cash gambling sites around the world in 2016. (eSports Betting Report, Narus Advisors, 2016)
Total global esports betting gross win
Esports betting as a percentage of sports betting
Regional split of global esports betting
Leading the distribution of the eSportsbook total amount wagered worldwide in 2016 is League of Legends, covering 38% of the shares. (eSportsBettingReport, 2016)
- 38% of the total eSportsbook amount wagered was attributed to bets placed on League of Legends since LoL was the most popular eSports game on the gambling market in 2016. (eSports Betting Report, Narus Advisors, 2016)
- The eSports betting revenue in 2020 is expected to reach 1.8 billion U.S. dollars. (GeekWire, 2015)
- In 2020, the eSports betting total amount wagered worldwide is expected to reach 23.5 billion U.S. dollars. (GeekWire, 2015)
Esport Startup Funding
The rapid growth of the esports market has seen a number of start ups appear within the industry covering everything from stat tracking to communication. The biggest esports-related start-up in the US has been the VoIP messaging service Discord, with venture capital of $50k, followed up by Skills which received $25k in venture capital. Investment in esports companies around the world is set to increase year on year with an 18.8% growth from 2016 to 2017.
Sources: CB Insights, TNL Media
- The leading eSports-related startups in the United States in 2017 is Discord, with a venture capital of 50 thousand U.S. dollars. (TNL Media, 2018)
- Skills took the second place among the leading eSports-related startups in the United States in 2017, with a venture capital of 25 thousand U.S. dollars. (TNL Media, 2018)
- 136 investment deals was estimated to be made in eSports companies from around the world in 2017, up from the actual 83 investment deals made in the previous year. (CB Insights, 2017)
- The investment in eSports companies around the world in 2017 is estimated to grow by 18.8% from 1.508 million U.S. dollars in 2016. (CB Insights, 2017)
