The eSports industry officially began over 20 years ago with the first event taking place. You don’t have to go that far back to find big changes, things look a lot different now than what they did five years ago.
But what do we know about the future? What will eSports look like in five years? This is a rapidly changing industry, so pinpointing how the industry will look is not easy but there are some indications already that show which kind of direction we are going in.
Whether you are a player, gamer or viewer, you will have an opinion on things and know what you would like to see.
So, here are three things we could see happening at some point in the next five years with the eSports industry.
Closer Ties with the Betting Industry
The rapid rise of betting on eSports has been evident for around a decade now. The year 2020 and the lack of sporting events has only pushed that forward further, when other sports were cancelled because of the Coronavirus pandemic, eSports were being played from home.
We have seen the creation of free bet and other welcome offers for new customers that can be used on eSports, so any new customers can get the same kind of good deal as those betting on other sports.
Betting markets have increased and the ability to bet in play has also become available on eSports. This means that gamblers can log onto their betting website, go to the in play section and place bets on the outcome of big eSports events taking place and watch a live stream of the action.
Ties have strengthened and this is a relationship that benefits both sides so expect this to be even stronger in five years from now.
Live Streaming to a Wider Audience
This is something that has been helped by bookmakers but it is expected that things will grow further over the next five years.
Traditionally, eSports events have been live streamed in places such as Twitch where gamers already congregate. However, eSports are now looking to attract more than just gamers.
They have seen an increase in the number of gamblers betting on eSports and following live streams, so it is now time to put the live streams elsewhere to try and pick up some more casual viewers.
If the industry really wants to move to the next level then just like we have seen with gambling, it needs to look away from gamers.
Whether this is a sports website, news website or something else, the hope is that eSports can be live streamed in other places over the next five years, opening up to a new audience.
At Least One Big Sponsorship Deal
If you look at a lot of different areas, eSports is seemingly on the cusp of breaking through into the big time. This is true of betting, streaming, TV deals and much more. The hope and guess over the next five years is that at least one of these will go through and happen.
What the outcome of that will be is at least one big sponsorship deal. This may come from a bookmaker, a streaming deal, TV company who are offering coverage or something else.
We do see sponsors in eSports at the moment, but a big splash could be just around the corner and that would be a huge move for the industry, something that would bring further funds in too.
Options are out there, and if just one of them comes good it will be seen as a big success and moment for the entire eSports industry.
