Audiences grow even despite the pandemic.
Over the past couple of years, the world of competitive gaming has seen an increase in popularity across the globe. Commonly referred to as esports, these events have been popping up everywhere and building huge fanbases. There were even esports events included in last year’s Olympic games. Some new statistics show that esports is continuously increasing in viewership and revenue — especially in Asia.
According to a tweet from the Asian Electronic Sports Federation, esports has seen a “significant rise in popularity” over the last few years. This increase in popularity has been particularly prevalent in Asia. Some statistics show that from 2019 to 2020, revenue, viewership, and the number of gamers involved in Asian esports grew exponentially. In 2020, revenue from esports in Asia surged 4.9% from 2019 to 2020, generating $543.8 million even despite the “challenges of COVID-19.” This number represents a strong course for 2021’s totals which could be a bit higher.
Esports viewership in Asia grew from 2019 to 2020. In 2019, Asian esports had 510 million spectators. In 2020, that number grew to 618.4 million — a 21% increase. Finally, the amount of esports gamers in Asia increased 7.3% from 595 million in 2019 to 658.5 million in 2020.
These are quite impressive numbers, especially considering that this spike in viewers and interest occurred at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the pandemic definitely impacted the esports world, from cancellations to postponed events, it clearly did not dampen the interest in the competitive gaming world. As a matter of fact, the Asian Electronic Sports Federation expects an even stronger increase in viewership, participation, and revenue for the Asian market in the future.
These increases seem to have forced an esports push in the Asian market. This year will see esports featured as official medal events in the 19th Asian Games. As many as 45 Asian countries will participate in the games. With the ever-increasing popularity of esports, it is likely that more events like the Asian Games will be including competitive gaming.
This comes after Joe Rogan is called out for his repeated use of the N-word.
