Millions have flooded to gaming and the virtual world. According to Statista.com, there are currently an estimated 2.7 billion gamers worldwide. Though we have seen a huge rise in mainstream awareness of streamers, competitive eSports, and the general gaming industry, there has been a steady growth in the gaming world that can date back to the 70s.
One october night in 1972, around 20 Stanford students got together for a Spacewar competition. On the winner’s table was a year’s subscription to Rolling Stone magazine. However, there has always been competition tied to video games. Think back to an arcade with initials attached to a high score on the screen so everybody walking past can see who’s top dog.
We can see this trend of competitions through Space Invaders and Super Mario. Almost 30 years later, the world meets Twitch. In result we see the rise of streamer personalities and the legitimacy of eSports.
Legitimizing eSports and Competitive Gaming
What do I mean by legitimacy? Because it routinely broadcasts eSports competition, Twitch’s 43 million viewers logged in 12 billion minutes on just League of Legends and Dota 2 in 2013. In that same year, we not only see US Universities and Colleges giving athletic scholarships to eSports athletes, the US Government recognizes eSports players as professional athletes. It would be no surprise that there would be a sold-out Staples Center League of Legends World Championship before the end of that year.
By 2017, the eSports industry has over doubled in net worth. Today, in eSports alone, there is an estimated 1 billion dollars in net worth. Because of the amount of exposure on social media and the norm of teams and organizations, statistics show that that number will almost double by next year!
Don’t Forget Streamers
That number doesn’t even include the amount of money streamers make in donations and endorsements. With so many different kinds of gamers, there are channels and streamers for everyone! There were an estimated 3.8 million streamers prior to March 2020 on Twitch alone. There are currently 9.24 million streamers on Twitch with roughly 280.5 billion dollars in revenue. This excludes other streaming services such as YouTube Gaming and Facebook Gaming.
Yes, it’s true that with every year a new set of passionate, diverse people dive into the world of gaming, but it’s not the only factor. The gaming world has been developing into something more than just a kids’ pastime. Determined kids grew into trailblazing leaders in the evolution of gamers.
They found sophistication and the opportunity to monetize what they loved. Gaming opened a whole new world for people to escape. Now, it has become their weapon to rise and become successful in this world. Don’t underestimate eSports and gamers, because they’re doing more than just playing around.
Check out these influencers in the gaming industry and let us know who your favorite streamer is. If your a streamer or gamer in the community looking to grow your fanbase, reach out directly to Respect My Region via email at info@RespectMyRegion.com.
