Competitions watched by more than 5 million French people, controller athletes who are starting to get paid very well, sponsors galore — would you have missed the esports phenomenon? No problem, we'll explain everything to you; follow the guide.
100 Million viewers worldwide.
On November 10, 2019, Paris hosts the grand final of the planet's most popular competitive game: League of Legends. In recent years, the excitement around esports has been growing exponentially.
Regardless of spelling: esport, e-sport, or even eSport... we explain everything here with even a small glossary.
France's leading esports club, Team Vitality, inaugurated on November 6, 2019 its flagship facility, in the heart of Paris. That summer, it had moved into a training center in the heart of the Stade de France. Earlier this week, it secured a new funding round of 34 million euros.
The bigger the audience, the more resources are invested, and the more players can make a living from esports.
Competitions have become increasingly professional over the years. Today, some land huge pots by winning events whose prize money keeps rising.
But for a top national player, salaries only range between 1,500 and 3,000 euros per month. You must reach international competitions to land the big prize.
Thus the Fortnite World Championship winner earned three million dollars. Far from television, viewers follow these tournaments on online platforms (Twitch.tv, Mixer…), we explain everything here.
But it's not just about tournament winnings—far from it.
Esports athletes produce streams (live videos), the way to build a fan community. People who watch them play!
Brands will then sponsor these players who stream, thus supplementing their income.
The most famous in France is Corentin Houssein but everyone knows him as “Gotaga”. You can see his face on Red Bull's latest cans that sponsor him for enormous sums.
They reach a young audience that no longer watches TV, distrusts traditional media and uses ad blockers.
The most popular games (that is, the ones whose streams of professional esports competitions are the most watched) are :
League of Legends - with 240 million hours of viewership in 2018
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive - 212 million hours
DOTA 2 - 180 million hours
Overwatch - 96 million hours
Hearthstone - 43 million hours
Heroes of the Storm - 19.5 million hours
StarCraft 2 - 17.5 million hours
Rainbow Six Siege - 14.5 million hours
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds - 14 million hours
Rocket League - 13 million hours
Not forgetting Call of Duty and especially Fortnite which do not appear on this list because their fans prefer streams that do not cover official competitions, which are fewer in these games.
Or the evergreen titles, Mario Kart, FIFA and Clash Royale, which are played more than watched.
Video game schools have thus entered this new market. Not all offered programs are the same, but they all share one thing in common: they are private (see the list), except for Tony Parker's.
There are even private coaching sessions for aspiring players.
Apps to help you become a pro, and scholarships to enter American colleges.
Moreover, being good at video games is an increasingly sought-after quality by companies. For example, cybersecurity jobs are recruiting more and more players. The intelligence services as well!
Gaming is also becoming part of the recruitment process.
In 2019, in Paris, a video game competition even took place between students from top schools and HR from large companies.
With a market that has seen revenue growth of more than 400% in less than five years, the esports industry will soon be in the same league as football, basketball or baseball. In South Korea, it’s already the case.
So there is no need to deprive your teens of controllers! They may (perhaps) have their future in their hands.