Newzoo Expects China to Account for 1/3 of Global E-sports Revenues in 2022

According to the 2022 Global Esports and Live Streaming Market Report released by Newzoo, a market research organization, on Wednesday, it is estimated that the global e-sports industry will generate $1.38 billion in revenue globally this year, an increase of 22% year-on-year. The company believes China will account for nearly a third of worldwide e-sports revenues in 2022.

Newzoo explained that the number did not include e-sports game income. Sponsorship continues to be e-sports’ highest-grossing revenue stream, and should generate $837.3 million in 2022 and account for nearly 60% of the entire market. The report also predicts that copyright revenue will reach $207.8 million in by the end of this year.

In recent years, e-sports have gradually become professional sports events and with it its income structure has become similar to those of live sports events.

According to the report, the compound annual growth rate should top 13.4% while the total output value of e-sports worldwide will reach $1.86 billion by the end of 2025. Newzoo predicts that by the end of this year, the global e-sports audience will reach 532 million, and this number will climb to 640.8 million in 2025.

Currently, China generates the largest portion of e-sports revenue, while the United States is the second largest regional market. In terms of growth rate, Southeast Asia, Central and South Asia and Latin America are the fastest growing regions in the e-sports market, with compound growth rates of 27.6%, 23.4% and 19% respectively from 2020 to 2025.

SEE ALSO: The Story of Chinese E-Sports: Industry, Policy and Social Stigma

The combination of community live-streaming platforms, club networks and distribution platforms are major factors for landing an e-sports competition deal. The report shows that Twitch, an overseas live-streaming platform, had an audience of 810 million in 2021 and a viewing time of more than 20 billion hours. Its audience is expected to reach 1.41 billion in 2025. YouTube Gaming is the second largest game viewing platform overseas, with a viewing time of about 4.7 billion hours. The report did not show the data of China’s live-streaming platforms.