In recent years, an industry known as eSports has grown exponentially. For those who don’t know, eSports, or electronic sports, is a form of competition centered around video games. Primarily, individuals, or teams, compete in organized multiplayer video game competitions. Although people have been competing in video games since their existence, the popularity of organized competition has drastically risen since advanced streaming platforms geared towards video game viewing—allowing spectators to tune in across any device—were introduced. With this increased popularity, forecasters have predicted that the eSports industry will exceed $1 billion in revenue in 2019.
With any $1 billion dollar industry comes opportunity. Anyone that regularly or casually watches traditional sports sees a bevy of advertisements for an endless number of companies. Soon, those who tune in to eSports may find a similar experience. In fact, a popular eSports league gained a significant global partner when Mastercard recently signed with the League of Legends. But advertiser involvement does not end there. Companies such as Monster, Geico, Gilette, 5-Hour Energy, Snickers, and others have all advertised with various eSports platforms in some shape or form.
With this amount of popularity and a high advertiser involvement, the potential for growth in the eSports industry remains strong. In 2018, various brands were projected to invest an estimated $694 million in the eSports industry. That number is thought to grow up to $1.4 billion by 2021. Although the eSports industry has already grown exponentially, such growth may not yet slow down. As such, keep an eye out for more and more advertising efforts from global organizations in the eSports industry as the industry continues to grow.