Less than six months after launching its eSports subsidiary, Activision Blizzard seems to have a hit on its hands.



Viewership in the company's just-completed "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship" set competitive video gaming records, said Activision, with viewers watching a total of 45 million hours of live broadcast over the five-day event.



All totaled, the event captured 71 million video views, with concurrent views hitting 1.6 million at one point.



If all of that sounds a bit confusing, try this: Two weekends ago, millions of video game fans spent hours watching on their PCs and mobile devices as other people played a game. And the number of people doing that regularly is on the rise.



"Last year, more than 225 million people watched competitive gaming, and the passion, engagement and size of this audience only continues to grow," said Mike Sepso, senior vice president of Activision Blizzard Media Networks and co-founder of Major League Gaming.