1.4 Outstanding performance in the e-sports market

"Games" are far more than just playing and socializing. Watching game-related content has also become an important part of this entertainment activity. In 2021, the eSports and livestreaming market has achieved great success in this area. Moreover, the number of esports viewers in 2021 is far greater than ever:

 465.1 million people watched eSports (+6.7% YoY)

 Among them, 235.5 million people watch e-sports games occasionally (less than once a month)

 The remaining 229.6 million are esports enthusiasts (watching at least once a month) During the epidemic, e-sports activities have gradually turned to be held purely online. Many viewers, especially esports enthusiasts, are looking forward to the return of offline esports events. "The return of offline events means that we can once again directly experience the charm of e-sports competitions in the stadiums that are full of seats," said Hugo Tristão, our head of e-sports market. To connect more closely with fans, attract more sponsorships, and bring more revenue to the industry in the future. This year, some audiences have experienced offline activities again, and they can't wait for offline competitions to return to normal. " Active participation in the market has also been reflected in game revenue. Although offline activities have not fully recovered, the revenue segment has started to grow. This year, the esports market will generate more than $1 billion in revenue, primarily in the form of sponsorships:

Attracting investment remains an important part of the business model of teams and event organizers. FaZe Clan's announcement that it will go public through a SPAC (special purpose acquisition) at a valuation of $1 billion marks a major milestone for the esports industry: the first time an esports organization has raised funds from the public markets. Meanwhile, 100 Thieves has raised $60 million in a Series C round that values the company at $460 million.

To reduce their reliance on public funding, many esports organizations are diversifying their revenue streams. Many teams have opted for blockchain technology - we have seen multiple teams and organizers jumping into the NFT space to further monetize the growing participation. Most recently, FaZe Clan has partnered with MoonPay in the NFT and cryptocurrency space.

While the development trajectory of NFTs is unclear, as esports teams further diversify their revenue streams, NFTs may play a major role in the future of the esports industry.

In contrast, this technology has a stronger presence in the metaverse:

"3D virtual avatars may become the digital identity of individuals entering the virtual world. Therefore, new forms of economic models may emerge in the future." Mihai said: "Businesses and individuals will no longer provide services for consumers themselves (D2C), but will Move to serving virtual avatars (D2A, Direct-to-Avatar).”

Back in today, esports games are also employing various innovative strategies to boost viewership, such as the Halo Championship Series (HCS) launched in Halo Infinite with a base prize pool of 3 million USD, but will increase further with crowdfunding. (Players will receive a pro rata cut of every purchase made in Halo: Infinite and added to the prize pool).

Not only that, 343 Industries, the game’s developer and publisher, also allows streamers across platforms to co-organize and stream esports events (we’ll analyze the livestreaming industry in detail next), and use the Twitch drop feature to reward fans for watching HCS matches live. . These marketing strategies, combined with the massive success of Halo: Infinite, have resulted in a strong resurgence of the Halo esports event.

Our esports data also shows that both League of Legend and Free Fire world championships have racked up record-breaking viewership numbers, showing both established esports titles and newer launches mobile platform games can get strong ratings.

Game streaming isn't limited to professional games, though. The daily live game viewer data is even more astounding.