We live in a day and age where everything is fast-paced. Everything and everyone is connected through electronic media and technology has evolved in numerous ways, making everything from entertainment to education accessible through just a screen. With that evolution, the trends have also changed. E-businesses are becoming more common than traditional ones and, new industries are emerging and growing through electronics. One such example of this is the esports industry. We have all heard of athletes such as Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the sports industry. Tyler Blevins, also known as Ninja, and Felix Kjellberg, also known as PewDiePie, are rising names along with many others in the skyrocketing industry of esports. Although esports athletes are not as well-known as athletes from the sports industry, they are beginning to gain more and more global recognition as the industry of esports is expanding.

What is Esports?

E-sports, short for electronic sports, are highly organized and competitive video games. In other words, it is an electronic platform where professional gamers compete either in teams or individually. These competitions are mostly in multiplayer settings, and cash prizes are won at the end of the tournaments. The competitions are also streamed online for free, mainly at Twitch and Youtube, where millions of fans from all around the globe watch and follow them. This is one of the methods that gamers receive fandoms, rise to stardom and begin earning an income by playing video games. Hence, what usually starts as a source of entertainment can be turned into a professional career.

How it turned into a $1 Billion industry

With how much the world has evolved, the esports industry also keeps growing rapidly with each passing day, allowing it to create lucrative business opportunities.  According to Newzoo, the global esports revenues will grow to $1.1 billion in 2020, a year-on-year growth of +15.7%, up from $950.6 million in 2019, and the total esports audience will grow to 495.0 million people in 2020, a year-on-year growth of +11.7%. Half of the revenue comes from sponsorship such as Mountain Dew and Red Bull and then from media rights and advertisements because of the hyper dedicated audience the esports industry has. Its average audience is people aged 18 – 34 years old and although it contains more male viewers, women make up more than 30 percent of today’s esports audience.

Types of E-Sports

There are different types of E-sports some of which are;

• First-Person Shooter (FPS)

Examples; Call Of Duty, Insurgency: Sandstorm, Payday 2.

• Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA)

Examples; Smite, League Of Legends, Heroes Of The Storm.

• Fighter games events

• Sports games events

Conclusion 

The esports industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in recent times. Not only does it open windows of opportunities for gamers to build professional careers, but it also allows game producers to develop new and lucrative games. Dedicating time and commitment can turn your gaming from a source of entertainment to a professional career as the esports industry keeps skyrocketing in today’s global village!