eSport offers new opportunities to communities, territories and public actors Remember that eSport is the competitive practice of video games. The esports market is estimated at 1.38 billion dollars worldwide. This market is certainly a “niche” in the global video game industry, but its impact is resounding:
- audiences growing by 8.7% per year (532 million for 2022)
- an omnipresence of streaming events (on Twitch in particular): competitions, show matches, discussions, special broadcasts, training sessions, etc.
- ever-increasing number of sponsors (F&B, crypto, finance, etc.) to support the development of professional teams
- investors who support esports startups and teams
- strong audience retention (Millennials) and a higher engagement rate than in other sectors
Video services play a huge role in the development of esports. Those platforms give gamers an opportunity to share their highlights with the audience and also earn money with the content they create. 95% of gamers choose YouTube as a preferred platform for streaming gaming content. Richest gamers and influencers are mostly active on YouTube, so it is obvious that you should focus on YouTube if you plan starting a gaming career. Most of the esports live streams get the highest views on YouTube. Building reputation and fame for your channel isn’t easy, so you can buy YouTube views and consume big time.
The eSports ecosystem is changing every day (new championships, new teams, new sponsors, new technologies such as Blockchain, NFTs, cryptocurrencies, VR, etc.) and cities and territories now have a real place to take.
Esport at the amateur or professional level is practiced online but also offline. There are many LANs across the country (Gamers Assembly, Lyon Esport, Occitanie Esport, DreamHack Tours, etc.) and local authorities are increasingly interested in the potential of this discipline which draws crowds! There are many reasons to organize an esports event within a city, but let’s mention in particular:
- increased visibility for towns or cities hosting an esports event,
- highlighting the tourist assets of the community (sea, mountain, historical sites, culture, etc.),
- additional income (overnight stays, catering, transport, etc.),
- meetings between many actors (startups, investors, non-endemic brands, elected officials, etc.).
Even if many cities want (or claim to be) “THE capital of esports” for a weekend or more, getting involved in the smooth running of a competition is not the only opportunity offered to a public actor.
Indeed, the role of esport goes beyond the mere fact of being a destination where gamers can compete or follow national or even international competitions.
Here are some of the challenges for communities:
- promote good practices: support for local associations, facilitation of setting up teams and gaming centers or gaming houses, encouraging public training (Universities in particular), highlighting start-ups with a social component (cyber-harassment, diversity, disability), organization of meetups and conferences, education of young people from an early age (primary schools and colleges in particular)…
- create unifying ecosystems and dedicated places: setting up real estate complexes bringing together numerous activities. facilitation of the establishment of startups and esports players: creation of a startup incubator, provision of dedicated places for clubs or influencers, education of investors to support the development of local startups…
As you will have understood, the competition will intensify in the coming years between cities, between regions and between countries, to make esports a new asset of differentiation on the economic, touristic, social or even digital level.
