eSports: The Milennial Marketplace

Heads up, the world of sports is about to get much bigger.

For a growing number of people, the life of a famous athlete is now a privilege that many can achieve without ever leaving the safety of a computer screen. eSports are among the world’s fastest growing markets, encompassing popular games like “League of Legends,” “Hearthstone” and “Dota 2.”  Here's the rundown: Players are overwhelmingly young, male, and from North America, Western Europe and East Asia, especially South Korea. The business model of these games operates on micro-transactions: games are free to download and play, but there are numerous $10-50 offerings which can make gameplay more fun or personalized. Because these arenas encompass nearly 27 million players a day, developers like Blizzard and Riot Games have taken home more than $1.6 billion dollars a year each on micro-transactions and merchandising alone.

To be considered an eSport, a game needs only to have a professional league associated with it (but to become a pro is much more competitive). The life has its perks though. Professionals, although they have to spend up to 14 hours a day gaming to stay “fit,” make up to 400K a year, and have even recently qualified for pro-athlete visas into the United States.  Professional teams are typically sponsored by bigger firms, especially telecommunications companies like Samsung in Korea, but players can also make significant figures through sponsorships, ads on their "Twitch" streams and subscribers. Streams can attract up to 30,000 viewers at a time and the most popular players have upwards of one million subscribers each.

Don’t be surprised if you haven’t heard of eSports in North America yet. This trend is biggest in South Korea, where the Seoul League World Championships attracted more than 27 million viewers and pros are treated like rock stars. Major broadcaster ESPN even has a dedicated eSports page, indicating the growing interest of private companies to capitalize on this massive market.

Things to watch out for as gaming grows? Firstly, in a sport that is overwhelmingly dominated by young men, women are starting to take the field. Most notably, League’s first professional female gamer “Remi” played for Renegades in the 2015 Season, marking a decidedly growing female interest in a world typically considered all-male. Secondly, universities have started to take note of this trend’s overwhelming popularity among college students. Recently, the University of California, Irvine has joined over six private universities to offer a League of Legends scholarship aimed at attracting Korean students.

As more and more developers capitalize on the on the offerings of eSports, keep a lookout for the power of fan-bases and the possibility of sponsorship. Above all else, be prepared for gaming to change the definition of sports as we know it.