Esports revenue on its way for a 52% increase over last year
Research firm Newzoo recently revealed some new numbers for the Esports market. Apparently, revenue in 2016 is on its way to a 51.7% increase over last year.
Esports-related revenues are on pace to generate $493 million in 2016, according to a report from intelligence firm Newzoo. That’s up more than 51.7 percent from 2015, and it is also a 7 percent increase from the projection that Newzoo made to kick off 2016. Most of the growth comes from gaming publishers investing in the space as well as media rights selling off to broadcasters faster than expected. The rest of that revenue comes from event sponsorships, video advertising, and ticket sales.
“More and more publishers are embracing esports strategically as a way to increase the longevity of their games through increased player engagement, and to boost franchise awareness among a broad audience through live competitions and tournaments,” Newzoo marketing director Emma McDonald explained in a statement. “For the latter reason, many publishers have looked to third-party organizers to help them set up tournaments around their new franchises. In total, Newzoo estimates that by the end of 2016, publishers will have spent close to $100 million to organizers to help them set up a tournaments, competitions, and leagues for their franchises.”
Publishers like Microsoft already showed huge interest in the market by presenting many tournaments for its biggest franchises, while others like Ubisoft are testing water with the upcoming Rainbow Six Siege competition.
Take a look at the data below:
