How the pandemic shaped the esports industry
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, hundreds of traditional sports and sporting arenas shut down operations, with both players and sponsors eyeing the field of sports with uncertainty. The opposite happened for esports, with video game player bases benefitting from the millions of people stuck at home. Hundreds of sports news outlets including ESPN and SportsNet struggled to find programming for prime time television and found a solution by including esports into its regular programming. With the help of many major sports outlets streaming esports tournaments on live television and an increase in the overall consumption of video games and esports media, the pandemic has shaped the way esports will be received in the future.
Online gaming has surged in popularity over the past year, with a report by Newzoo projecting that gaming revenues will reach almost $160 billion by the end of 2020, a 9.3% increase from 2019. One example of how the pandemic has affected video game sales is the release of Nintendo’s Animal Crossing. Released just as cities around the world began to shut down, Animal Crossing was the perfect game for millions of people to spend time on. Players are able to take care of their islands and villagers and visit friends and family member’s islands. Animal Crossing grossed $654 million in global digital sales as on March 31, 2021, selling 32.63 million units, showcasing the pandemic’s effects on video game sales as consumers found new ways to spend their spare time.
This increase in overall video game consumption is also reflected in online streaming services such as Twitch, with 17 billion total hours watched in 2020 alone, a whopping 83% increase from 2019’s 9 billion hours watched. With more spotlight on virtual events hosted on Twitch and other streaming platforms such as YouTube Gaming and Facebook Gaming, even people who watched or played zero hours of video games a week pre-pandemic have started to pick up gaming as a hobby and pastime.
The pandemic has shown millions of people around the globe how accessible esports are.
All you need is a cellphone and a network connection to begin watching esports competitions and videos. Most esports games can also run on low spec computers and laptops, which many people now have due to many jobs transitioning online. The pandemic has pushed esports forwards, creating demand for hobbies as people are stuck at home, unable to go out.
Stay-at-home orders have shown how perfectly suited to distance video games and esports are, with esports competitions and content creation adapting quickly and easily to being run completely virtually. As the world recovers from the pandemic and the public begins to adjust to more online and work-from-home positions, video games and esports will continue to thrive with more gamers and those interested in esports than ever.
The pandemic has certainly turned mainstream media’s attention towards esports, propelling the growth of esports activities, tournaments and organizations around the globe. The pandemic has created a space in the sports entertainment industry that esports has been quick to fill in. The next question remains, however, if esports will continue its current growth beyond the demand created by the pandemic.