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Esports
the industry is evolving
trends report
2018
ESPORTS | 1
Contents
5 Esports: Where Is It Now?
7 The Marketing Potential in Esports
11 The Esports Gaming Landscape
15 Learning from Traditional Sports’ Example
17 Future outlook
Notes on methodology
1 IN 3 ESPORTS FANS
ARE AGED 20-25
5%
6% 3% 55 - 64
22%
Prefer not
45 - 54
to say Bottom
25%
46%
Mid 50% 35% 25 - 34
ESPORTS | 3
Esports:
where is it now?
Esports is an umbrella term referring to it towards something it so needs – to But aside from its overwhelmingly positive
competitive video game tournaments. have a structure akin to traditional sports future outlook, it’s the esports audience
Although video game tournaments competitions. which is attracting a lot of attention.
have been around for some decades As we can see from the previous pages,
now, it’s only in the last decade that this Esports is positioning itself closer to the Esports Fans are more likely to be young,
entertainment has managed to breakout traditional sports model primarily by male and affluent – a demographic which
into a global phenomenon with serious mimicking its competition structures, marketers have found increasingly difficult
revenue-generating potential. If 2016 with high-profile investments from to reach. This is especially true given that
was the year in which esports gained personalities in physical sports also over 3 in 4 males aged 16-24 - and 9
enough momentum for those outside of having a major influence. This is helping in 10 Esports Fans - are either deleting
the industry to begin taking it seriously, to instil further confidence in the industry, cookies, using private browsing windows
then 2017 was the year in which we saw particularly concerning the future viability or blocking ads, making it difficult for
this form of spectator gaming become and revenue potential of esports. It marketers to identify or target these
more of a cohesive and accessible genre also opens new distribution doors from audiences.
of entertainment. In a glimpse of what notable media companies (i.e. ESPN,
we can expect to see more of in the Turner, BBC), a sure sign that advertising
coming year, 2017 saw real structural dollars and marketing reach are moving in
developments in esports which bring the right direction.
4 | ESPORTS
WHICH OF THESE GAMING-RELATED
ACTIVITIES HAVE YOU DONE IN
THE LAST MONTH? WATCHED AN
E-SPORTS TOURNAMENT
40% Philippines
39% China
37% Malaysia
35% Singapore
35% Vietnam
34% Poland
32% Thailand
32% Sweden
32% Turkey
31% South Korea
30% Taiwan
29% Hong Kong
28% Spain
27% Brazil
27% Portugal
25% Argentina
24% New Zealand
23% Canada
23% Indonesia
23% UK
22% Germany
22% Australia
22% Belgium Singapore
21% USA
21% India Hong Kong
21% France
21% Ireland
20% South Africa
20% Mexico
18% Netherlands
18% Russia
17% Italy
16% UAE 1x 2x 3x 4x 5x
16% Egypt
12% Saudi Arabia
9% Japan Above National Average
From a market-by-market perspective, Some of the most dramatic rises come In the following chapters, we discuss in
it’s also among males aged 16-24 where from mature markets like the U.S., UK, detail the current state of the esports
we see just how far the industry has and Germany. These are markets with industry, the characteristics of its much-
come. China and South Korea have been considerable global economic influence, coveted audience, as well as the genre’s
indispensable in the development of home to some of the most important trajectory towards becoming a full-
esports, but from this perspective, there gaming industry brand names - which are fledged sport in itself.
clearly exists a substantial opportunity transforming into regional esports hubs.
in virtually all of the 40 markets. In the
majority of cases, males aged 16-24 are
around 2x, 3x and sometimes even over
4x as likely to be engaging with esports
tournaments each month.
ESPORTS | 5
The Marketing ROUGHLY HOW MANY HOURS DO YOU
SPEND ENGAGING WITH TELEVISION/
ONLINE TV/SOCIAL MEDIA SERVICES
DURING A TYPICAL DAY? • WHICH
OF THE FOLLOWING SITES /
Potential in
APPLICATIONS HAVE YOU VISITED OR
USED IN THE PAST MONTH VIA YOUR
PC / LAPTOP, MOBILE OR TABLET? •
WHICH OF THESE THINGS HAVE YOU
DONE WITHIN THE LAST MONTH ON
YOUTUBE?
Esports
BASE: 8,308 ESPORTS FANS AGED 16-64
28%
1:45 1:38 2:53 19%
The opening up of important new Among the most dominant players in the To some extent, the current distribution
distribution channels for esports esports broadcasting space are gaming- landscape of esports is broadly reflective
entertainment – particularly via broadcast centric streaming sites like Amazon-owned of how this entertainment has evolved
TV networks – has shored up any doubts Twitch and YouTube Gaming, while in compared to traditional sports. Unlike
regarding its move into the mainstream. China it’s Douyu and Panda TV which traditional sports, esports has first and
Key examples of this include Turner and take their place. Part of the reason why foremost developed online, and the
ESPN announcing esports broadcasting these sites have provided such a suitable online multiplayer games at its core are
on their linear TV networks. However, platform for esports entertainment lies played all around the globe. As such, the
esports entertainment is still firmly in their strong community offering. That esports community is truly digital and
anchored online, and this is unlikely to Esports Fans are 45% more likely to use a global in stature. Esports show how new
change any time soon. service for the community based around media distribution channels like Twitch
it gives an indication of why these sites and YouTube Gaming are in a perfect
Contrary to many assumptions in recent resound so well among this group. They position here. These platforms connect
media, Esports Fans do watch traditional also offer an environment akin to that disparate groups of global individuals,
TV - only 3% exclusively watch online of a social network, which again strikes and transform an otherwise niche activity
TV. In fact, this audience clocks up an the mark among an audience spending into a major form of entertainment.
average of 1 ¾ hours on their TV sets almost 3 hours of their day on social Linear TV does not have this borderless
per day. But what makes them especially media. (or social) advantage, and this is probably
interesting is that they’re now devoting why the likes of Twitch command such an
almost as much time per day to online Esports is likely to remain influence over the genre.
TV as they are to linear TV. Esports Fans anchored online
are spending over 30 minutes more per
day watching online TV than the average
internet user, and with each passing
quarter we see this metric climb.
6 | ESPORTS
IN WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAYS
ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO FIND OUT
ABOUT NEW BRANDS, PRODUCTS, OR
SERVICES?
% IDX*
Personalized purchase recommendations on a website 23 1.41
Vlogs 20 1.26
ESPORTS | 7
WHAT WOULD MOST MOTIVATE YOU
TO PROMOTE YOUR FAVORITE BRAND
ONLINE?
BRAND ADVOCACY
% of Esports Fans aged 16-24 who would promote a
brand for the following reasons
% IDX
Access to exclusive content or services (e.g. music, videos, etc) 25 1.34
This presents an audience elusive in nature due to their once the interaction has over-indexes among Esports
which responds well to high levels of ad-blocking and taken place, especially given Fans show the important role
organic marketing, especially cookie deleting, but which their propensity towards P2P their favorite brands can play in
via peer-to-peer (P2P) can offer high returns when marketing. their online lives – one-to-one
recommendations among targeted through the esports B2C relationships (23%), having
fellow gamers – a natural community they collectively A look at this group’s brand insider knowledge about
interaction resulting from nurture. advocacy motivations provides products (23%) and access to
the community-based further insight here. In order to exclusive content (35%) feature
platforms. As just one example This is a very brand-engaged prompt action, brands must prominently.
of this, Esports Fans are 24% bunch – they over-index for provide engaging content
more likely than the average all of our 20 online brand with a sense of exclusivity,
16-24 year-old to promote a interactions. So the problem while fostering a brand
product if it is relevant to their is not in connecting these image which applies itself to
friends’ interests. It also shows consumers with brands, but the esports community. Some
an audience which may be in getting them to take action of the highest brand advocacy
8 | ESPORTS
TREND IN ACTION
EX AMPLES FROM THE INDUSTRY
ESPORTS | 9
The Esports WHICH OF THESE GAMES / GAMING
FRANCHISES HAVE YOU PLAYED IN
THE LAST 12 MONTHS?
Gaming
BASE: 8,308 ESPORTS FANS AGED 16-64
Landscape
GAMES PLAYED BY ESPORTS FANS
% of Esports Fans who have played the following gaming franchises in the past 12 months
Plants vs. Zombies 42% Grand Theft Auto 41% Resident Evil 53%
Need for Speed 37% Counter Strike 36% Grand Theft Auto 45%
A look at which games Esports Fans From this perspective, it’s also clear that expectations. As such, for marketers
are playing from a regional perspective the esports audience is composed of to make an impact in this industry, it’s
gives some idea as to why it is so its own subsets of groups, most often crucial for them to approach them with a
important to broadcast its leagues divided by the genre’s most popular diversified communication strategy. This
online – prominent esports games gaming franchises. Similar to the film means treating the esports audience
such as League of Legends, FIFA, industry, a broad array of sub-genres in as a diverse group to best deliver the
Counter Strike and Call of Duty all have gaming entertainment (such as fantasy brand’s message and appeal to their
considerable global appeal. role playing games, sports-based games unique interests.
and first-person shooters, etc.) can lead
to fairly unique sub-audiences with
differing interests and attitudes.
The esports audience represents
many subsets of groups with We’ve already seen how resistant Esports
different interests and attitudes Fans are to marketing efforts which are
not aligned with their own interests or
10 | ESPORTS
WHICH OF THESE GAMING-RELATED
ACTIVITIES HAVE YOU DONE IN
THE LAST MONTH? WATCHED AN
E-SPORTS TOURNAMENT
A look at engagement with esports presence in other regions too, it’s divisions begin to gain momentum in
tournaments among players of each gamers in APAC who display the their - in some cases very vocal - player
gaming franchise shows how popular strongest engagement rates with the communities. For example, despite
fantasy multiplayer online battle majority of the franchises. many of their players engaging with
arena (MOBA) games and first-person esports tournaments, some of the games
shooters are to the industry. With the As esports matures and more leagues in this list are yet to allow for a ranked
exception of Pro Evolution Soccer, are introduced, we’re likely to see more and competitive gaming environment.
the majority of the top ten gaming gaming genres enter the mix, too. But Destiny’s game developer, Bungie, has
franchises in our chart fall within these before this happens, game developers publicly voiced its uncertainty over the
two categories. What’s also clear is need make sure their titles have cut- game’s future esports potential, as well
the influence of certain APAC markets through in a competitive environment. as the influence player demands might
and their prominence in the esports This will be an important decision have upon its willingness to pursue
landscape. Although all of the top ten to consider for these developers, esports.
gaming franchises have a considerable especially if demands for competitive
ESPORTS | 11
WHICH OF THESE DEVICES DO YOU USE
TO PLAY GAMES?
79% 1.13
Legend: % INDEX
Indexes are against internet users aged 16-64 in each region
The importance of APAC Professionally competitive Testament to the importance In fact, APAC is already
in the esports scene gaming has for the most of smartphones in key leading the way in mobile
signals a bright future part revolved around PC esports markets like China esports. Chinese company
for mobile game-based and console gaming. But and Thailand, internet users Tencent already has a
esports leagues. globally, smartphones are here are spending longer significant stake in popular
the top gaming device by online on their mobiles than esports titles like League
some distance, with APAC all other devices combined. of Legends, Call of Duty
being the most enthusiastic As such, it’s not hard to and World of Warcraft. That
mobile gamers. For many imagine mobile esports mobile gaming composes
internet users in much of the rapidly growing its presence such a substantial share of
APAC region, smartphones in this region. As smartphone the company’s revenue gives
would have been their capabilities increase and some indication of why it is
initial point of access online. mobile games become more pushing mobile gaming to
As well as being the most sophisticated, this opens the the fore in esports. Elsewhere
commonly owned device way for esports leagues to the Chinese Ministry of
in APAC, smartphones are take place on mobile. Culture has created the
overwhelmingly cited as Mobile Esports Game
internet users’ most important Association.
device for getting online.
12 | ESPORTS
TREND IN ACTION
EX AMPLES FROM THE INDUSTRY
Clash Royale
Esports League
ESPORTS | 13
Learning from
Traditional Sports’
Example
Some of the most important recent traditional sports leagues like revenue These developments which parallel
developments in the esports industry sharing agreements and player-centric esports with the traditional sports
have involved structural changes in features. Notably, 9 in 10 Esports Fans industry are crucial to its future.
the composition of leagues and the already watch at least one of our 31 Eliminating uncertainty in esports
franchising of esports teams. With tracked sports competitions online or and promoting stability is a sure way
esports being touted as the next big on TV, showing a level of familiarity to attract much-needed investment,
thing in entertainment, investors are with traditional sports competition increased media coverage and new
becoming anxious as to how they can models. Esports adopting these models sponsorships. But this will also help to
best enter the market, and whether should allow for it to become more establish permanent team slots in the
the market itself promises stability to accessible for those looking to follow its leagues to encourage longstanding
ensure long-term growth. competitions. investments from team owners, thereby
fostering long-term talent within each
In the last year we’ve seen notable team.
personalities in the business of sports Restructuring and franchising will
– particularly team owners in U.S. encourage investment, increased
sports leagues – carry out high-profile media coverage and new
purchases of esports league slots. In the sponsorships, as well as foster long-
coming year, Riot Games and Activision term talent within each team.
Blizzard are set to franchise their own
leagues, adding features which mimic
14 | ESPORTS
TREND IN ACTION
EX AMPLES FROM THE INDUSTRY
aXiomatic Esports
ESPORTS | 15
FUTURE
OUTLOOK
1 2018 will see further developments 4 Many popular gaming franchises 5 To crack the esports scene, marketers
around esports leagues emulating are weighing up their suitability must grasp the importance of
traditional sports structures. With for the esports format. Realistically, community among the esports
this will come further investments suitable esports games need to fanbase, as well as the power of
as outside investors become more broadly fall under a certain criterion. peer-to-peer marketing in these
reassured of the stability and To begin with, fairly small team communities. Understanding how
predictability of esports leagues. numbers are important, as too large these communities are held together
a team means that prize pools are by interests and knowledge of
2 Esports entertainment has a lot of reduced per player. This leads to particular gaming titles will help to
potential to add value to some of the little incentive among players to enlighten marketers on what kinds of
latest consumer technology. Virtual dedicate themselves to a game messages will resonate well among
reality is a prime example of this, full time. Also, balanced abilities esports fans. Above all these brand
giving spectators of esports leagues between player classes are crucial, messages need to be authentic for
the ability to get up close to the in- as this eliminates the risk of unfair them to strike a note.
game action, building on gaming’s competition. While many majorly
already noteworthy presence in the popular gaming franchises do not yet
VR industry. meet this criterion, it’s highly likely
that many might adapt their offerings
3 We expect to see mobile esports’ to align themselves with it, especially
presence in the industry grow given the vast revenue opportunities
quickly. Tencent’s central role in esports has to offer.
mobile gaming and its investments
into mobile game developers outside
of Chinese borders are part of the
wider picture of major Chinese tech
companies developing a global
strategy to build their presence
outside of their home market.
16 | ESPORTS
Notes on Methodology
Our quotas
To ensure that our research is reflective of the online population in each
market, we set appropriate quotas on age, gender and education – meaning
that we interview representative numbers of men vs women, of 16-24s, 25-
34s, 35-44s, 45-54s and 55-64s, and of people with secondary vs tertiary
education.
This research is also used to calculate the ‘weight’ of each respondent; that is,
approximately how many people (of the same gender, age and educational
attainment) are represented by their responses.
Please note that the sample sizes presented in the charts throughout this report
may differ as some will include both mobile and PC/laptop/tablet respondents
and others will include only respondents who completed our Core survey via
PC/laptop/tablet. For more details on our methodology for mobile surveys and
the questions ask to mobile respondents, please download this document.
ESPORTS | 17
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18 | ESPORTS
CHASE BUCKLE JASON MANDER
Senior Trends Analyst Chief Research Officer
E chase@globalwebindex.net E jason@globalwebindex.net
TW @Chase_buckle TW @thejasonmander
www.globalwebindex.net
ESPORTS | 19