eSports: A Hot Opportunity in 2021

There’s no denying 2020 was a big year for video game growth.

In fact, with the pandemic keeping millions of people at home, video game spending in the U.S. totaled $56.9 billion for 2020.  That was 27% higher year over year, according to NPD.  In December 2020 alone, sales were up to an impressive $7.7 billion.

For 2021, the video game industry could see global revenue of $189.3 billion, says Newzoo, adding there could be 2.8 billion gamers worldwide in 2021.  Part of that tremendous growth has been driven by the eSports market.

In fact, “Global eSports revenue was projected to reach $1.1 billion in 2020, with a majority of that earned through media rights and sponsorships, according to esports research platform Newzoo,” as noted by the South Florida Business Journal.

However, that may only be the start.  At the moment, nearly 70% of China’s 720 million gamers are actively playing eSports games, as noted by CNBC.  In addition, U.S. News & World Report has said, “The global eSports audience is expected to double from 335 million in 2017 to 646 million by 2023, according to Business Insider.

In short, the industry still has plenty of upside momentum.