Mentioned in this article Games: Overwatch

Newzoo’s annual Global Esports Market Report is out—and the esports industry is officially taking in over half a billion dollars annually. With an overall $655 million in global revenue, esports comes in under Newzoo’s projection from last year’s report, but still marks a phenomenal 33% year-over-year growth rate.

Further details in Newzoo’s report outline significant other findings and estimates:

Revenue $906 million global revenue projection for 2018 (38% YoY), with $1.65 billion global revenue reached by 2021. Combined, China and North America should generate 56% of global esports revenues in 2018, a total of $509 million.

Viewership ~14% year-over-year audience growth over the next few years, reaching over 500 million occasional viewers by 2021. Over 50 percent of esports enthusiasts in 2018 are projected to come from the Asia-Pacific region.



One critical element that reveals how Newzoo quantifies its findings and projections is in how it differentiates between total revenue and “brand investment revenue”—from sources like media rights, advertising, and sponsorship. Newzoo’s projection for brand investment revenues accounts for the entire underestimate from last year. Essentially, the scene saw less total investment by brands, but met its expected revenues from other sources: merchandising, ticket sales, and game publisher fees.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The scene saw less total investment by brands, but met its expected revenues from other sources: merchandising, ticket sales, and game publisher fees.[/perfectpullquote]

Also notable is that Newzoo is anticipating that these brand investment revenues are where esports will grow the most in 2018, with the largest growth expected in media rights sales. Our reporting last year identified the “war” over streaming rights as a misnomer: “Not only is there plenty of exclusive esports content still up for grabs… but there’s also plenty of opportunities that esports streams aren’t taking advantage of.”

That said, the last six months have seen substantial steps taken to reduce the previously up-for-grabs content. Facebook upped its game significantly in landing an exclusivity deal with ESL, which despite causing a relatively major controversy looks to highlight the social media giant’s efforts in the esports market. Elsewhere, Blizzard’s Overwatch League sold its media rights to Twitch for a reported $90 million, while at the same time attracting significant sponsorships and solid viewership.

In summary, esports is continuing its remarkable growth rate and looks to have no end in sight. With gaming similarly on the rise, and with traditional sports continuing to adopt esports as secondary revenue streams, we expect Newzoo’s projections to be reliable models in the coming years.