Esports Ecosystem 2021: The key industry companies and trends growing the esports market
As competitive video games continue to integrate into popular culture, global investors, brands, and media outlets are all paying attention. Consumers are as well. In fact, there will be 26.6 million monthly esports viewers in 2021, up 11.4% from 2020, according to our estimates.
The pop-culturization of the esports industry has helped power the explosions in esports investment and revenue. Esports has hit this stratosphere in large part because of the social component of live streaming and gaming. Video gaming-specific streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube Gaming give fans a direct connection to the players and teams, while more mainstream socials have allowed those connections to flourish. Certain esports organizations, like FaZe Clan, are also moving aggressively into areas like merchandise, lending their brands more notoriety than if they’d stuck to esports alone.