A brand new report by esports market analysis agency Niko Companions revealed that Asia and MENA accounted for over 56% of world esports income in 2022.
In accordance with the agency’s ‘2023 Esports in Asia and MENA Report’, international esports market income is estimated to be valued at $1.3bn (~£1bn). China remained the Asia and MENA area’s largest market by producing revenues of $445m (~£353m) in 2022.
Regardless of producing essentially the most income, China suffered a drop in its esports viewers in 2022, down 7.8% from its earlier yr. Nevertheless, there have been will increase in regional esports viewership throughout Asia’s different markets, notably India, Japan and Southeast Asia (SEA). Throughout MENA and Asia, Niko Companions has reported that there have been round 742m esports followers final yr, 400m of which had been from China alone.
Niko Companions advised Esports Insider it calculates the worldwide esports market dimension based mostly on income generated by consultant parts of the esports ecosystem. This consists of sponsorships, media licensing, crew franchising, ticketing, merchandising and livestreaming partnerships for tournaments.
Importantly, the income determine excludes income generated by esports sport gross sales, in-app purchases and different microtransactions. It additionally excludes livestreaming income for esports titles and content material creators.
Niko Companions additionally added that it estimates the worldwide esports market dimension based mostly on publicly accessible information, market tendencies and its personal market mannequin.
One other key takeaway from the report was which video games had been the most well-liked final yr on PC and console. Niko Companions famous VALORANT, Dota 2, and League of Legends because the areas’ huge three in PC, with Apex Legends additionally showcasing development in Japan. European esports organisation FNATIC expanded additional into Japan by coming into the Apex Legends scene final yr.
Inside the cell ecosystem, Asia and MENA are largely dominated by PUBG Cell (Peacekeeper Elite), League of Legends: Wild Rift and Cell Legends: Bang Bang.
For the 71-page report, Niko Companions interviewed quite a lot of trade executives, examined streaming information, reviewed firm financials and utilised gamer surveys to compile the info.
Alexander Champlin, Director of Esports Analysis at Niko Companions, commented: “In 2023, Asia stays the centre of development for the worldwide esports market, whereas MENA is turning into an influential international participant by high-value investments and high-profile occasions.
“Esports fandom continues to rise throughout the area. Esports companies are consolidating and focusing their efforts, whereas demand for esports stays robust. Because of this, we count on to see average development in each income and viewers engagement this yr.”
