A well-trusted source for games and Esports analytics and market research, Newzoo has released its 2022 Global Esports & Live Streaming Market Report, which projects that Esports will produce USD 1.38 billion in global revenue during this year, and USD 1.86 billion by 2025, a healthy CAGR of +13.4%. Southeast Asia, Central Southern Asia, and Latin America are the fastest-growing regions, with 2020-2025 CAGRs of +27.6%, +23.4%, and +19%, respectively. China remains the world’s largest market in terms of live-streaming audience. It will develop with a CAGR of +7.6% from 2020 to reach 267.5 million in 2025.
Digital and streaming are two key revenue segments for Esports, with 2020-2025 CAGRs of +27.2% and +24.8%, respectively. Increasing awareness around digital assets and NFTs will likely boost investment and fan interest in acquiring in-game items of Esports IP. Moreover, sponsorships are estimated to make up 60% of global Esports earnings, to the total amount of USD 837.3 million during 2022. Successful Esports organizations are diversifying their revenue streams. This diversification ensures that Esports revenues will continue to increase and makes the industry more resilient to changes in the sponsorship landscape. Direct-to-fan business models such as merchandising (physical or digital), loyalty programs, and educational programs are helping organizations diversify.
In terms of fans, the global Esports audience will reach 532 million (+8.7% YoY) by the end of 2022. The number of Esports enthusiasts is set to extend to 261.2 million, while occasional viewers will make up 270.9 million. The Esports audience will be 640.8 million (318 million of enthusiasts, a CAGR of +8.1%) by the end of 2025, with a 2020-2025 CAGR of +8%. About demographics, Esports enthusiasts are primarily young and male; however, women make up 34% of the group. Among them, 24% are between the ages of 21 and 65.
The games live-streaming audience will expand by 13.8% year on year to reach 921.2 million globally in 2022 (they were 810 million in 2021). The audience will cross the billion mark by 2023 and increase with a CAGR of 16.3% from 2020 to get 1.41 billion in 2025. The lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 caused the audience to rise beyond initial expectations. Markets in Latin America, the Middle East and Northern Africa, and Southeast Asia will retain high growth rates throughout 2025, boosted by the escalating popularity of mobile titles on live-streaming platforms. About this, PC Esports titles dominate developed markets such as North America, Europe, China, South Korea, and Japan, while mobile Esports titles are more popular in emerging markets like Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, Southeast Asia, and India.
Twitch was the preferred games live-streaming platform in the West in 2021, seeing a +26% year-on-year increase, with nearly 20 billion live gaming hours watched. YouTube Gaming was the second largest with 4.7 billion live gaming hours watched.