Forside / Sponsors / Investors

Esports in the portfolio?

Video games at a competitive level are today referred to as esports. Esports has evolved with lightning speed from being a hobby in the basement to suddenly filling large arenas with millions of spectators worldwide. Revenue in the esports industry was globally DKK 3.3 billion in 2016 and is expected to increase to DKK 20 billion in 2022. This development can catch the attention of any business-minded investor or sponsor. However, it can be unmanageable to familiarise yourself with the industry as an investor or sponsor. Where to start, what risks are associated with it, what opportunities do you have, and which games make sense?

We can help you understand the esports industry. We are able to match investors with interesting organisations based on wishes, needs and chemistry.

About the development of esports

Esports started back in 1972 when 24 students participated in the first esports tournament, held in the game Spacewar. The prize pool was a one-year subscription to a magazine!

This development then led to “mid-game”, which was initiated during the 00’s. in this period a significant advance in technological development. The computer suddenly became public property, and the Internet began to get both better and cheaper.

Already around the millennium, people began to understand the professionalization of esports, and since then, there have been several significant events that bring together several thousand people.

Sponsor in esports globally

Esport is a global industry where both national and international tournaments are organised. The prize money is only getting bigger and bigger, primarily due to the loyal and dedicated followers and fans in esports. Esport is suddenly followed from the couch, where big events are streamed through Twitch and have even found their way to flow TV, which means it reaches even more viewers! Interestingly, today there are more users and viewers of esports on Twitch and YouTube Gaming than there are combined users on HBO, Netflix, and Spotify.

An industry with potential for sponsors/investors

Esport is an industry with enormous potential, and the industry is developing rapidly.

Just remember that one of the strongest and well-known esports brands, Astralis, was founded in 2016, almost five years ago at the time of writing. Nevertheless, already in 2018, you could experience more than 12,000 spectators in the Royal Arena, where, among other things, the players from Astralis fought for almost DKK 1.7 million. Already the following year, the prize money had doubled to DKK 3.4 million in the same tournament.

However, the prize money varies greatly from game to game. In 2019, the game Fortnite was the game with the most prize money with more than DKK 418.6 million ($ 64.4 million). DOTA 2 is second with almost DKK 304 million ($ 46.7 million) in prize money. CS: GO, best known in Denmark, had prize money worth DKK 137 million ($ 21 million).

The big difference in the cash prizes is mainly due to the infrastructure in the various games that the providers have built in relation to their games and how much money the game developers invest themselves. For example, Epic games have thrown $ 200 million in prize money into their World Cup final weekend in Fortnite.