A recent study conducted by market intelligence firm Newzoo expects the esports industry to cross US$1.5 billion by 2020.

As of today, the Asia-Pacific region accounts for 51% of the global esports population, with SouthEast Asia growing very quickly.

Esports tournaments are becoming major sporting events.

Newzoo and several other market intelligence firms have also projected that mobile gaming could overtake computer and console gaming in terms of gamer population alone.

Although esports industry for mobile games have yet to be as lucrative as their desktop counterparts, the mobile industry is growing very quickly due to its ease of adoption and localization.

The rise of mobile gaming is taking place globally.

With more and more people having access to the mobile internet and digital payments in this part of the world, the demand for digital entertainment is growing exponentially, accelerating the growth for esports.

According to a Newzoo report from 2015, the “Big Six” countries in Southeast Asia for eSports are Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, accounting for 99% of the region’s esports revenue.

Major corporations like Alibaba are playing a significant role in the growth of the esports industry.

With gaming gaining popularity throughout the region, it is no surprise that companies are scrambling for the Southeast Asian market.

“Compared with computer games, mobile games can be rolled out in overseas markets in more diversified ways,” explained Xiao Hong, chief executive of gaming and media company, Perfect World Investment to Chinese tech website, Yi Cai Global.

Alibaba’s gaming arm, Ali Games began rolling out their games in 2017 for the region, while Tencent is the majority stakeholder in Singapore’s Sea.