How the esports industry has boomed during the pandemic

While the world is in a standstill amidst a global pandemic and people forced into a lockdown, one industry has thrived at a time when the markets are facing an unprecedented economic crisis. The esports industry has not just survived but prospered as people seek an engaging form of distraction while practicing social distancing. According to Market Watch, the two most popular streaming platforms, Youtube and Twitch have seen a massive growth with a 20% increase in the number of hours streamed during the lockdown. With the absence of traditional sports, esports betting has also become more common as people have more time to spend viewing esports during isolation, leading to higher spending. With movie theatres and concerts a distant possibility in the current scenario, the global video game market has become worth four times that of box office revenues and three times the music industry revenue to a sum of $159 billion in 2020. The pandemic has disrupted the day to day livelihoods and esports has been the savior of in-house entertainment, leading to unprecedented traffic in the industry. The resilience of the esports industry amidst the global pandemic has also attracted potential investors and sponsors who have looked beyond traditional sports to an industry that is not just immune to the coronavirus but also a potential recession. That’s not to say that esports tournaments around the world weren’t affected at all. According to Forbes, 31.6% esports events transitioned from LAN to online with about 23.5% events outright cancelled. However, if taken in comparison to traditional sports, esports has successfully adapted to the situation. Many traditional sports also transitioned to esports, such as the F1 that streamed the game on their channels to keep fans occupied while in isolation and fill in the void of motorsport consumption. Nascar hosted a race with virtual tracks and famous drivers in April with a 903,000 viewer audience and many sponsors. NBA 2k struck a deal with ESPN 2 to broadcast its games on mainstream media, all because of the sheer demand. In a world that is increasingly gearing towards a digital age, the esports industry is at the forefront to continue its upward growth trend. With the growing popularity of esports and it’s potential to reach untapped markets in developing countries, esports could be well on it’s way to eventually reach the heights of traditional sports and maybe exceed it. The world will be a very different place once this pandemic ends, but one thing is for sure that the esports industry would be in a much better position than where it was before it all started.

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