The global rise of esports continues as competitive video games become a part of popular culture, forcing investors, brands, and media outlets to sit up and take notice. In 2022, there were an estimated 532 million esports viewers worldwide, with audiences in the US around 30 million. That figure is predicted to rise to 34.8 million by 2026 as America overtakes China to become the biggest video game market in the world.
Big-name brands have seen the potential, and Nike, BMW, Intel, Ralph Lauren, and more have looked to connect their brands with the phenomenon through sponsorship and marketing. Sportsbooks, too, have seen an opportunity as they look to tap into a younger demographic. Bettors can choose from multiple markets on a variety of global tournaments, allowing them to place an esports bet on their favorite team or players.
Why Are Esports So Popular?
Accessibility And Inclusivity:
Fans and players can compete and watch from anywhere in the world, creating a global community that comes together to enjoy video games. Not only that, unlike physical sports, anybody can play and enjoy video games.
Technology:
Players and fans have grown up with smartphones, computers, and video games, which means that, for many, esports is part of their culture.
Game Quality:
Advances in technology have seen the creation of incredibly compelling games, with Virtual Reality, machine learning, and AI delivering ever more impressive titles. Now games are not only enjoyable to play but also entertaining to watch.
Prize money:
The success of esports has seen prize money for tournaments increase, with some elite gamers becoming multi-millionaires and celebrities. This adds to the excitement for viewers and encourages participation in the sport as esports becomes a viable career path.
The Olympic Esports Series 2023
The Olympic Esports Series is a global virtual and simulated sports competition created by the IOC in collaboration with International Federations and game publishers. It is an attempt by the IOC to affiliate itself with a younger audience and help grow esports while also testing the waters for future esports participation as an official Olympic sport.
The event provides amateur and professional gamers from around the world the chance to compete against each other for the right to appear at the first-ever Olympic Esports Week in June in Singapore.
Taking place at the Suntec Centre, the four-day festival will also include an exhibition of the latest technologies, panel discussions, education sessions, and show matches.
The nine games are:
- Archery (Tic Tac Bow)
- Baseball (WBSC baseball: POWER PROS)
- Chess (Chess.com)
- Cycling (Zwift)
- Dance (Just Dance)
- Motorsport (Gran Turismo)
- Sailing (Virtual Regatta)
- Tennis (Tennis Clash)
- Taekwondo (Virtual Taekwondo)
The IOC has explored the idea of adding esports in the past and even held an Esports Summit back in 2018. But this event is seen by fans and players as yet another milestone on esports epic journey to full Olympic recognition and an indication that attitudes within the IOC are slowly changing. Thomas Bach, president of the IOC, confirmed as much in a recent statement. “The first Olympic Esports Week marks an important milestone in our ambition to support the growth of virtual sports within the Olympic Movement.”
Paris 2024
The next Olympic games will take place in Paris, and while esports will not be awarding any gold medals, plans were recently announced by Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, to build a national esports eco-system to help the industry grow and develop before the next year’s games. There are also plans to host an Olympic Esports Week that will run alongside the games, although no further details have emerged as yet.
New Olympic Sports
New sports are regularly added to the Olympics, with skateboarding, surfing, and climbing the newest additions, as the IOC seeks to appeal to a younger audience. In 2021 they officially announced the inclusion of breaking or break dancing for Paris 2024. Esports certainly fit the young demographic the IOC is chasing, but for many people, it remains a ‘game’ and not one that requires any physical skill worthy of an Olympic medal.
Esports fans would argue that there have been plenty of weird and wonderful Olympic sports over the years, so why not give esports a try? Tug-of-war, live pigeon shooting, Basque Pelota, Hurling, Croquet, and Gliding, are among the more obscure sports to have featured. At the same time, modern-day games feature Walking, and Synchronized Swimming, which many people claim do not deserve to be there.
The future for esports looks set to continue its upward trend no matter what, with Latin America and India just some of the huge untapped markets that will see revenues and player participation rise even further. By 2025, there are expected to be 640.8 million viewers of eSports worldwide, a big increase from 435.7 million in 2020. Perhaps then, the question shouldn’t be whether esports needs the Olympics, but rather do the Olympics need esports?