Live streaming and esports key trends report 2022

The live streaming and esports key trends report 2022 includes the latest estimates and forecasts (up to 2025) for the esports and live-streaming audiences and esports market revenues. Regional breakdowns exist across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and emerging regions (as well as a consolidated global view).

Esports operates at the intersection of competitive gaming and game-related live streaming, combining two of gaming’s most important aspects: playing and watching. The companies and creators fostering immersive and engaging live experiences drive engagement across esports and game-related live streaming. This is why if you have any interest in these areas, Newzoo’s live streaming and esports key trends report 2022 is a must-read.

Live streaming and esports key trends report 2022 – key learnings

  1. Esports organisations still rely on sponsorship as their business’s primary revenue source. By the end of 2022, sponsorships are expected to account for $837.3 million—nearly 60% of global esports revenues.
  2. PC esports titles dominate developed markets such as North America, Europe, China, South Korea, and Japan. Mobile esports titles dominate emerging markets like Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and India.
  3. The games industry’s live-streaming audience reached almost 810 million in 2021 and is expected to reach 1.41 billion by 2025, a CAGR of +16.3% from 2020 to 2025. Nongaming content is one of the drivers of massive growth, accounting for up to 21% of the content watched in 2021.
  4. More than 84% of users active in non-gaming categories are also active on gaming channels, which means that non-gaming content does not necessarily cannibalize gaming content on these platforms. This is an opportunity for brands that are more familiar with non-gaming content to engage with live-streaming gaming audiences.
  5. Co-streaming is increasingly becoming part of brands’ strategy to provide non-gaming content to the gaming community. Recently, Netflix, the NBA, and Formula 1 have partnered with streamers to expand their distribution channels for content among gamers.
  6. Esports is set to generate nearly $1.38 billion in revenues by the end of 2022. China will generate nearly a third of worldwide esports revenues. 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.Global esports revenues will exceed $1.86 billion by 2025, representing a healthy CAGR of +13.4%.
  7. The global esports audience will reach 532 million by the end of 2022. The number of esports enthusiasts is set to reach 261.2 million, while occasional viewers will make up 270.9 million. The esports audience will reach 640.8 million by the end of 2025, with a 2020-2025 CAGR of +8%.
  8. Twitch was the most popular game 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.

Content areas addressed by the live streaming and esports key trends report 2022

Key global esports trends

  • Trend 1: Esports organisations are looking beyond sponsorship to diversify revenue streams – Like many sports, esports is overreliant on sponsorship as its key income source. Digital merchandise (e.g. apparel), loyalty programmes (e.g. offering unique content for a subscription fee), and education/training offerings (e.g.supporting player improvement) are three of the most popular approaches.
  • Trend 2: Organisations that focus on regional audience preferences have more success than those that use a homogenous approach. No different from any consumer business; segmenting your audience and catering to their specific needs (rather than trying to be everything to everyone) leads to better engagement and monetisation.
  • Trend 3: Content is diversifying on live-streaming platforms, and non-gaming content is growing

Esports market by numbers

  • Esports industry revenue forecasts
    • Main revenue streams
    • Factors that can increase/decrease revenue
    • Annual revenue per fan
  • Esports audience growth projections and demographics
  • Live streaming audience growth projections
  • Regional summaries of all of the above

Key live streaming platforms by market

A summary of the main global and regional platforms and where they have gained penetration.

Download the live streaming and esports key trends report 2022

Click here to download the live streaming and esports key trends report 2022. You may also be interested in the gaming, esports and metaverse trends 2022 report. Click here for more information.

If you’re looking for advice from an esports or gaming agency, Strive Sponsorship can help. Contact us for esports, sports, sponsorship, commercial, content, media, operations, investment, and communications consultancy services.

Frequently asked questions

What are the current trends in gaming & esports?

A key trend for esports companies is the broadening of revenue streams away from traditional ones like sponsorship, advertising, branded content, and merchandise. Additionally the raising of funds from public markets rather than private investment.

How big is esports in 2022?

Esports enthusiasts (people who watch professional esports content more than once a month) number 261.2m globally and industry revenue is over USD $1,384m. Source: Live streaming and esports key trends report 2022

Who are esports target audience?

Aggregated across all esports titles and territories globally, 64% are male and 34% female. 74% are ij full-time jobs and 44% have a high household income. Source: Live streaming and esports key trends report 2022