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By Kunal Dhyani -12/17/2018
- Esports as an industry is poised for a healthy growth over the next three years.
- A survey has predicted a 5.3% growth rate for the Asian eSports market, while in the middle east the growth will be as high as 9.4%.
Referring to inputs from the “Unlocking potential: The eSports Rrevolution in India†segment at the Times of India Global Sports Show, indiantelevision.co has reported that the state of eSports industry over the next three to five years is estimated to grow by 5.3% in Asia and 9.4% in Middle East and Africa, according to PwC Sports Survey 2018.
The growth is attributed to the factors like the improved internet speed, smartphone penetration, government digital push and highest youth population. The factors put together put eSports in India in the right territory for growth. Voot, Hotstar, Youtube and Twitch are keeping the eSports’ passionate new generation engage
“Once you have a large enough mass in a region or a country then I would think it’s a matter of time to really become big. The three things we can do from our side to make it really popular are the infrastructure, devices and data where people can play and watch others play,†the website has quoted Tencent GM Aneesh Arvind, as saying.
Tencent’s sensational PlayerUnknown’s Battleground’s (PUBG) Mobile game, a phenomenon with young generation in India, has crossed 100 million downloads.
Also Read: Tencent puts down PUBG server for much-awaited updates
“We have such a large player base in India that all the assumptions we used to have in the gaming industry doesn’t hold true anymore. We have built the game and the ecosystem around it by doing TV commercials, advertisement in different media, got influencers on board,†Arvind added.
According to Tencent, Esports is a video game, which is played competitively with rewards attached to it and an ecosystem where people are ready to watch that.
Esports for the first time became a part of a major sporting event in 2018 Asian Games Jakarta as a demonstration sports. This was announced by Asian Esports Federation (AESF). 10 Indian Gamers had qualified for the event.
The eSports market size this year is supposed to be $900 million, which is likely to reach $3 billion by 2021. “We as the eSports industry are trying to figure out ways in which we can grow and models of monetisation,†Arvind added.
“I think for us it is an investment time. As a company which is building IPs we are very clear that for the next 3-5 year time frame we have to invest in the fan base, create the infrastructure getting the right stakeholder and the right federations,†opines Nodwin Gaming MD Akshat Rathee.
“We are the only sport in the world which is not run by the federation because the publisher owns the trademark of the game,†Rathee concluded.
According to UK-based Juniper Research, the advertising spend will dominate in terms of revenue and spend (accounting for 50 per cent in 2022).
Source: https://www.insidesport.co/800-mn-esports-industry-poised-to-reach-inr-3-bn-within-three-years-report/