- Esports revenues expected to hit $1.1 billion as the year goes by, Newzoo reports
- The income marks an almost 15% increase compared to last year
- Live streaming of games is hitting all-time highs because of COVID-19 and is expected to near a million in yearly gains by 2024
Newzoo and Juniper Research analysts project an expected increase of yearly esports income, amounting to about $1.1 billion dollars.
Newzoo’s Predictions for Esports’ Growth
Newzoo, one of the most trusted platforms when it comes to the analysis of the gaming market, has forecasted that global profits from esports will hit and even surpass a billion.
The analysts mention that the total competitive gaming audience has increased by 8.7%, totaling 474 million people worldwide. More than half of these viewers watch esports no more than once a month, with the regular viewers being about 234 million.
Newzoo’s report on the 2021 Global Esports and Live Streaming Market estimates the average yearly growth of the esports viewers will stay at a little under 8%, and the total audience will reach 577 million by 2024.
As the numbers of esports enthusiasts go up, so will the profits. The expected income from competitive gaming should reach $1.1 billion by the end of the year. This would mark an almost 15% increase compared to last year. Out of the profits, $833 million will be due to media rights and sponsorship.
Newzoo analysts consider this growth to be partially due to growth markets. However, they add that another large factor: As portable devices have become more and more technically reliable, the interest in mobile gaming has also increased, especially in LATAM, MENA, and Asia.
Even though the market seems to be growing, Newzoo’s study considers that growth suboptimal because of the COVID-19 situation. With a greatly diminished number of live audience events, tournaments, and conventions, much potential profit has been lost. However, Newzoo adds that this change of pace has forced many to adapt and may actually have a positive impact on the market in the long run.
Juniper Research’s Estimates
One of the things that have benefited the most from the COVID-19 situation may be the streaming market, whose audience skyrocketed. The total viewers are expected to go up by 10% compared to last year, totalling around 730 million. This increase will probably fall down a little bit once the COVID-19 situation is resolved, but a total audience of 920 million is still scheduled for 2024. Chinese viewers are expected to play a big role in the feat of reaching the milestone of a billion, Newzoo comments.
Another analyst house, Juniper Research, calculates that the total revenues from both esports and streaming will reach $2.1 billion this year and %3.5 billion by the middle of the decade.
According to Juniper, the aforementioned milestone of a billion viewers will be hit by 2025. Analysts at Juniper Research agree that Asia will play a big role in that, providing more than half of the total audience. Latin America also has potential, and many companies have set their sights on the region.
Juniper Research analysts consider the role of the right investments to be crucial to the development as otherwise, the progress may halt.
