The esports industry is developing at a quick pace, and interest in competitive video gaming now goes beyond individual events. If you are here looking to invest in esports, you will probably want to know what stocks to buy and what video game companies offer a good value for your money. Investing is not exclusively limited to esports, so anything that you know about investing, in general, will apply to how you approach different stock options, predict risk, and where you end up putting your money.
You can back video game companies, as mentioned, but the esports industry is much broader. There are many esports companies that are already showing a lot of promise out there, and buying stocks may prove a smart investment move today. Let's have a look.
What Esports Stocks to Buy?
Esports companies are making their mark on the investment world. You may know nothing or everything about how to play video games and still make successful moves in the gaming industry.
In fact, many mainstream financiers and chief executives from Major Leagues in the United States are joining the esports market and looking to capitalize on the $1 billion opportunities that is competitive video gaming.
So, the question naturally boils down to what esports stocks you should back? There are many ways to approach the subject. Most purchases you consider will do with established gaming companies or gaming hardware manufacturers, such as Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, or Razer.
Below, we will list a list of esports stocks we believe you should consider buying. The esports companies to invest in will cover anything esports leagues, to streaming platforms, to publishers, to media conglomerates, and more.
1. Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) is one of the best-known companies and a great opportunity to invest in esports in general. The company has created a number of highly valuable assets, including the Overwatch League and Call of Duty League.
The stock surged at the end of 2020 and has kept steady throughout 2021. Today, Activision Blizzard owns numerous franchises. The company is actively developing Overwatch 2, and it operates other esports titles, including the Call of Duty franchise.
StarCraft and Hearthstone are two other competitive gems owned by the company, but there are other non-esports-related assets, such as Diablo and World of Warcraft, that continue to be a contributing factor to the company stocks' overall vibrancy and long-run stability.
2. Tencent Holdings
Tencent Holdings (OTC: TCEHY) has its hands in many pies. You could argue that if there is an esports title out there, it's partly owned by Tencent. The Chinese media and tech conglomerate owns Riot Games fully and, by extension, it owns the company's flagship esports game, League of Legends. The company's investments include popular esports games as Honor of King, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, and Fortnite.
Tencent Holdings has an underlying strength because the conglomerate is also in control of numerous streaming platforms, including Huya Live, through its subsidiary Tencent Video. The stock was buffeted by growing tensions between China and the United States, which is always something you should be on the lookout for, but overall Tencent is a stable and good long run choice.
3. Esports Entertainment Group
Esports Entertainment Group (NASDAQ: GMBL) is another interesting choice to consider. EEG is involved with both gaming and esports, and it operates Vie.gg, an esports betting marketplace where video gamers can place a bet on the outcome of an esports tournament. The company is a little more versatile when it comes to its own investment portfolio.
Apart from Vie.gg, it assimilated significant assets outside the esports betting market, buying Bethard, a mainstream betting company, and teaming up with the NBA Cavaliers. EEG also purchased Holodeck Ventures' esports content and media business in 2020 in another ground-breaking move for the company.
4. Huya
Huya (NYSE: HUYA) is a pioneer in live streaming with a focus on popular esport events in China. You can argue that the platform is an alternative to Twitch in the east and a worthwhile “substitute”, too. It's owned by Tencent, which has a clear interest in controlling both video gaming and streaming, and we think this may be one of the companies worth investing in when trying to grow your investment portfolio with esports stocks.
Naturally, there are some concerns to keep in mind, including the fact that Huya trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and could easily become entangled in a geopolitical conflict, which is usually resolved amicably and without punishing entertainment giants. When we looked in on the stock, it traded at around $16, well below its peak in February 2021, when it had reached $33.74.
5. Allied Esports Entertainment
Allied Esports Entertainment (NASDAQ: AESE) is a global esports company that focuses on high-quality tournament products. The company is behind the HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas, one of the landmarks of the gaming and esports landscape anywhere in the world. While operating in the physical space, Allied Esports' stock has been climbing steadily in 2021.
The company completed a successful Q1 and managed to benefit from numerous partnerships, including one with Sonic View, and the company is also focusing on storytelling as a new form of esports content. Overall, the company is poised to continue its upward trend, and it may prove a good option to invest in for the long term.
6. Modern Time Group
Modern Time Group (STO: MTG-B) is one of the most impressive companies in the esports ecosystem. The company's portfolio includes businesses such as DreamHack and ESL, and you can argue that MTG is one of the most successful stakeholders.
The company's stock is prone to changes and has had some specific market conditions to face with the pandemic suspending live events and impacting the portfolio through ESL and DreamHack at first. Nevertheless, Modern Time Group's stock is doing well today, even though it's down from its SEK 144.30 peak in February 2021.
7. Esports Technologies
Esports Technologies (NASDAQ: EBET) is a company to keep on your watch list. It is focusing on shaping and driving growth in the current and future esports wagering industry, offering advanced products. In May 2021, the company released a mobile app that allows you to try and predict the outcomes of live esports competitions.
The app is designed to serve as a place where the global esports community comes together and engages with competitive video gaming in various ways. Overall, the company's stock took a tumble since 2020 and trades at around $20 today, but it's still a viable choice and definitely one of the companies to watch out for in future.
8. Real Luck Group
Real Luck Group (TSXV: LUCK) is the parent company for Luckbox, another esports betting platform that has driven significant forays into the esports market. The company started as a dedicated esports betting platform focused on providing video gamers with an opportunity to place a bet on popular video gaming contests, including Overwatch, Call of Duty, Dota 2, League of Legends, and many others.
While Real Luck Group holds a strong potential in the market, you should be aware that the stock has not exactly moved upward. The platform is focusing on gambling a little too much, and this may be a deterrent for many investors, but overall, Luckbox's results are remaining strong, and the company is experiencing global growth. We definitely are watching Luckbox.
9. Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) is a known name in esports, and the company's stock is buoyed by EA's continuous efforts to post stronger financial results year after year. The industry knows few other companies that are as obsessed with driving financial results. Electronic Arts have one of the best esports and video gaming industry stocks to buy today.
In fact, EA is the second-largest video game publisher to date in terms of revenue and market cap. We would consider this option to be a little riskier than most, as it has been known to swing drastically, although you can rely on EA's stocks to always recover.
Looking at the esports titles that the company supports, including Madden NFL, NBA2K and the FIFA Series, it’s fair to say that EA is no stranger to esports and that the company is determined to continue expanding its clout in competitive video gaming.
10. ESE Entertainment
ESE Entertainment (TSXV:ESE) sets out a simple goal for itself and looks to bring around the next generation of esports. The company remains focused on physical and digital content creation that can be consumed by esports fans anywhere in the world. ESE wants to focus on bridging Europe, Asia, and North America and does so through several products.
You can expect to see ESE engaging with broadcasting, general content, advertising, and even participating in esports competitions on its own. As an investment opportunity, the company is an interesting option.
11. The Score Media and Gaming Inc.
The Score Media and Gaming Inc. (TSE: SCR) is a gaming company that focuses on traditional sports and betting in principle. However, the company has been investing in esports as well, looking to spur growth in new verticals and potentially generate fresh revenue opportunities.
With theScore Esports, the company explores a new model where it engages with esports audiences through YouTube content creation and focuses on covering competitive gaming. TheScore Esports doesn't try to replicate what the company's sportsbook does, but it's a venture that has amassed a good following in the vertical.
Now, we can’t say how serious theScore is about esports, but the featured content you will find on the dedicated website is interesting, educational, and always worthwhile. Whether the stock will prove to be the same is up to your investing gut to decide.
12. FansUnite Entertainment Inc.
FansUnite (CNSX: FANS) is another pariah insofar as traditional esports stocks go, and you should adjust your expectations accordingly. The company has been pushing in what is known as ‘iGaming,' related to the online casino world, but it has shown investment appetite for various competitive video gaming solutions, too.
In 2020, FansUnite launched a dedicated free-to-play platform in collaboration with TGS Esports that essentially allows fans to make predictions on live esport event outcomes. The reason why we feature FANS on our list is its acquisition of Askott Entertainment, a full-service development company that focuses on esports and iGaming.
13. Bilibili
Bilibili (NASDAQ:BILI) or B Site as it's known under its Chinese moniker, is a video-sharing platform based in Shanghai. The company is one of the video gaming/esports entities to truly benefit from the pandemic which suspended traditional sports and pushed demand for electronic sports in the past year or so.
Bilibili's esports stocks traded at around $50 before December 2020, but the have surged since and hit $113 at the time of writing with a $140 peak in February 2021. Bilibili is represented in esports through ownership of Hangzhou Spark and Bilibili Gaming.
The company has also purchased the broadcasting rights for the League of Legends World Championship and League of Legends Rift Rivals.
14. DoYou International Holdings
DoYou (NASDAQ: DOYOU) is another China-based esports pioneer. The company's specialty lies in live streaming solutions focused on the video game industry and competitive gaming. The site has over 160 million active users in the country and offers extensive coverage for all popular esports titles.
In terms of stock potential, DoYou experienced some difficulties in early 2021, and the esports stock continued to depreciate in value. Regardless, the platform is one of the biggest esports/game-focused solutions on the market, and it may be worth keeping an eye out for.
As far as we tell, the platform is exclusively focused on the Chinese market, but we often use it to watch Chinese professional gamers who are streaming there.
15. Enthusiast Gaming
Enthusiast Gaming (TSE: EGLX) is a worthwhile investment opportunity, it seems, and while it has to do with the video game industry more so than it does with esports, it's a credible option to explore. The company's mission is very simple in essence as it strives to build the largest network of communities across multiple channels and bring gamers from all over the world together.
The company has over 100 websites and publishes unique and dedicated content crafted by professionals and sporting a massive viewership base of over 24 million subscribers on YouTube. The company works with over 500 influencers n various social media platforms, including but not limited to Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and now TikTok, and it is also collaborating with a number of esports teams today.
In terms of actual price movement, the stock has surged from a little over $1 to around $7 today. The company has shown a lot of promise, with results fairly unmoved by short-term upsets. We believe Enthusiast Gaming should be on your list of investment options.
Buying Esports Stocks: Not Without Its Risks
Esports stocks seem an interesting pick, especially if you are new to the idea of buying stock. After all, esports fans are known to have disposable income and an appetite for trying new things. However, as with any type of investing, esports invites the same risks, even though it could have its worthwhile rewards.
The list of esports and gaming stock offered here should not be taken at face value. In listing these stocks, we presented arguments based on our own experience reporting on the industry and comparison of stock price movement. However, we cannot provide you with a sure-fire approach to investing.
We believe that buying esports stocks should be no different than any other type of investment. Looking to buy esports penny stocks may not be the most viable way to approach this still young and rapidly developing industry.
The truth is that esports’ value has surpassed $1 billion today, and it continues to drive growth. More companies are going public, and the opportunities to invest multiply. If there is one type of advice we would offer you, that is to approach esports investment with a “hold mentality” where you don’t divest your portfolio during the first choppy patch.
Disclaimer: This article does not constitute a form of financial advice. Investing carries significant risk and you should only invest if you understand the asses you are investing in fully.
