The growing popularity of eSports has led to an increase in viewership, amounting to over 440 million people in 2023. The number of fans is projected to increase to 577 million people in 2024. Of these, almost half are active players.
Records and achievements
The e-sports market is estimated at approximately $1.2 billion. Betting on eSports events on GGBet in various formats is also becoming more active. The most profitable disciplines are declared:
- Dota 2 (1673 pro-gamers, 640 tournaments);
- League of Legends (4258 cyber athletes, 1754 official competitions);
- Counter-Strike (8560 professional athletes and 2458 championships).
StarCraft, lesser-known Smite, and a game called Heroes of the Storm also feature large prize pools. The youngest player in eSports was Joseph Dean, who became a member of the Fortnite team at the age of 8. But Abba Drakborg is already 78 years old and constantly posts streams on the Twitch platform.
On average, young people between 17 and 25 years old are successful in eSports. There are much fewer girls than boys. And the richest e-sportsman, Kyle Giersdorf, with the nickname Bugha, managed to win $3.1 million at Dota 2 tournament events.
Geographical and technical aspects
Job openings in esports have grown tenfold in recent years, as has the total number of esports organizations. Professions related to media are especially in demand. Hours of thematic content viewed reach 3 billion per year on YouTube and similar services. In the USA alone, after the lockdown, gaming activity increased by 75%.
The Asian and North American segments are considered successful in eSports. 50% of finance comes from China and South Korea, and in Japan the involvement of the population in the industry has increased by 80%.
The largest esport center is located in the USA and is called Helix. It has three halls with a total area of 550 sq. m. The office of the Boston Uprising team, which specializes in the video game Overwatch, is also located here. It is planned that a cyber arena for 6 thousand visitors will be opened in Shanghai in the near future.
