Asia-Pacific Esports Market Outlook, 2028

Asia-Pacific Esports Market Outlook, 2028

The Asia Pacific is anticipated to dominate the market during the projected period. The growing number of internet users and mobile gaming has fuelled the growth of esports in the region. Younger population influences the shift to a ‘mobile first’ mentality where the region’s increasing online population and high smartphone penetration contribute significantly to the growth of mobile esports. As infrastructure and internet connectivity continue to improve, it will play a part to enable the growing gaming ecosystem in the region. Asia has always had a huge influence on the development of the hypercompetitive esports world. As an esports powerhouse, APAC owns the highest share of the global gaming market, has the largest gaming communities and the growth of Esports in Asia-Pacific is accelerating. The gaming scene in the region is anticipated to be the strongest driver for growth and innovation and will dominate the entire industry resulting in more and more capital inflows and teams from around the world will want to break into the Asia-Pacific market. Additionally, initiatives to promote esports participation among Asian people are expected to largely influence esports popularity in China, Japan, South Korea, and India.

According to the research report, “Asia-Pacific Esports Market Outlook, 2028” published by Bonafide Research, the market is forecasted to grow with 19.35% CAGR for 2023-2028. In the past few years, the profile of a “typical gamer” in Asia has been totally transformed. As the number of genres increases and storylines become more inclusive, more and more female gamers are getting in on the action. When it comes to mobile games, female gamers love intense, hard-core titles that feature strategic gameplay and diverse character options- particularly massively multiplayer online role playing games and Anime, Comics and Games, as well as multiplayer online battle arenas and shooter games. Female Esports League and Callisto Gaming are major female gaming organizations leading the charge across the region. Also, girl's HK by Logitech, Belletron, Bren Female and Asterisk are Asia's top female esports teams. YouTube Gaming, Facebook Gaming, Garena Live, and Twitch have emerged as new platforms for watching and participating in esports across the region. These platforms have been the most active promoters of esports in Korea and throughout Asia. Most gamers in Asia-Pacific use YouTube and FaceBook live features as their primary eSport gaming sites. This makes it easier to develop a fan base online. Betting sites also have a significant impact on esports. Most esports players are also found on betting websites, as the two go hand in hand.

According to the report, the market is segmented into five major countries including China, Japan, India, Australia and South Korea. Among them, China is leading the market with more than half of the share in 2022. China announced esports as an official sport in 2003; since then, the market has provided professional jobs and esports operators in the country. China is the largest single-country market in the world, fuelled by the growth of Chinese consumers’ purchasing power, as well as Chinese tech giants’ investments that have spurred gaming entertainment. China also has the highest number of active esports players and tournament viewership thanks to new technologies with mobile devices and live-streaming. According to the research, in 2019 there were more than 5,000 esports teams and clubs in China, with about 100,000 professional esports players and a total of 500,000 people employed in the industry. Both PC games, such as League of Legends, and mobile games, including Wild Rift, Honor of Kings, and Peacekeeper Elite, are very popular in China. In China, The highest awarding game was Dota 2 with $ 80,548,731.87 USD won, making up 34.16% of all earnings by Chinese players. Wang Ame Chunyu is the highest earning Chinese player with $ 3,912,904.27 USD in prize money won overall, all of which was won from playing in Dota 2 tournaments.

Companies like Tencent and Singtel are financially involved in developing such esports spaces and have teams of their own. Tier One Entertainment has made headlines for collaborating with the Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU) to launch an esports degree program. While esports familiarity in the Asia-Pacific region is still low in some countries, the number of esports viewers is on the rise, having already crossed the half-billion mark across Asia. Due to its popularity, esports debuted as an official discipline at the 2022 Asian Games, held in Hangzhou in China in September 2022, where players competed in eight medal events, including popular video game titles such as League of Legends, Dota 2, and PUBG Mobile. While esports and gaming have faced regulations by the Chinese government in the past, several cities like Hangzhou and Shanghai have opened up dedicated esports towns with training facilities and event spaces in recent years. Based on the revenue stream, the market is segmented into various parts including sponsorship, media rights, merchandise & tickets, publisher fees, digital and streaming. Among them, sponsorship segment leads the market with around USD 466 Million market size in 2022 whereas digital segment is growing with highest CAGR compared to other revenue streams.

South Korea is a well-known country for esports, providing standard infrastructure to gamers, containing coaches, gaming-house, analysts, and cooks. For instance, in April 2022, Korean Esports Association (KeSPA) signed a three-year sponsorship deal with SK Telecom. The agreement has made SK Telecom an official sponsor of KeSPA and will train the Korean esports team for upcoming Asian games. Such initiatives and developments in the market are expected to fuel further growth in the forecasted period. Korean organizations are taking steps to promote esports on a global level by organizing new tournaments and events. The esports in Korea are also pioneer television channels 100% dedicated to esports. The most famous ones, OnGame Net, Adreeca TV and SpoTV, have nearly 8 million viewers in prime time. The broadcasting of esports matches is one of the main sources of revenue in the South Korean esports market, as it is in the entire Asian continent. Also, in December 2022, the International Esports Federation (IESF) based in South Korea announced that it had partnered with Big Bang Media Ventures (BBMVPL) to launch the Asia Open esports Championship (Asia Open) that is being organized from 30th January 2023 to 15th March 2023. The highest awarding game was League of Legends with $32,943,017.30 USD won, making up 26.26% of all earnings by Korean players. Lee Faker Sang Hyeok is the highest earning Korean player with $1,434,271.14 USD in prize money won overall, all of which was won from playing in League of Legends tournaments.

Furthermore, esports is gaining popularity in India. It began as a segment of the gaming industry but today it has risen to the point where it is considered as a sector in its own right. It has grown exponentially in the last decade and now boasts a staggering audience and participation figures. Owing to massive marketing and advertising on various internet streaming platforms, backed by fast internet, it is now successfully dominating the Indian gaming ecosystem. Meanwhile, Japan is also focusing on milking the esports industry by taking steps to promote its popularity and constructing spaces to transform the competitive gaming landscape in the country. In April 2022, Japan witnessed the inauguration of its largest esports park spanning across three floors at the base of Tokyo Tower. The new space offers a competitive arena for esports enthusiasts and equips them with the latest games and simulators to test their skills. The structure of local esports markets differs vastly across the Asia-Pacific region. In Japan, national gambling and copyright laws have previously complicated the process of hosting and broadcasting esports events. In Japan and India, playerunknown's battlegrounds mobile game is the highest awarding game in recent year.

Based on the obtained data, China and South Korea have been dominating League of Legends, one of the most-watched games in the competitive gaming world for years. From 2011 to 2020, 9 out of 10 champions, 16 out of 20 finalists and 25 out of 40 semi-finalists were from Asia and the last non-Asian champion was back in 2011. Not only do these professional players win a lot – they also earn a lot of prize money. Chinese and Korean teams in total brought home approximately USD 26 Million of winnings from esports competitions in 2020 alone. Southeast Asia is another up-and-coming market that many big gaming companies are entering aggressively. This is the fastest-growing region for gaming in the world, with approximately 310 Million gamers spread across other countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and The Philippines. This rapid growth is attributed to the market’s appetite for mobile gaming and the extensive deployment of 5G networks. Also, the next quadrennial Asian Games, to be held in China in 2023, will feature Street Fighter V and other video games as official medal events for the first time.

According to the report, the Asia-Pacific market is categorized into various device types including mobile, PC, gaming device and others. Among them, mobile segment is dominating the market with highest market share in the analytical year. However, other devices such as VR and smart TV are anticipated to grow with highest CAGR by 2028. Over 57% of the Asia-Pacific population are using internet. Asia is home to almost 1.5 Billion gamers. Among them, 55% of males are gamers and 52% of gamers subscribe to at least one gaming service. From around 4359 Million population in Asia-Pacific, nearly 2791 Million population is considered to utilize online platforms. Among them, 1263 Million population is aware about the esports and their characteristics. As per the obtained data, nearly 442.5 Million population is encountered to be live streaming audience. Also, close to 160 Million population is esports enthusiasts across the region. Livestream platform for esports present in Asia-Pacific includes Facebook Gaming, Twitch, Afreeca TV, bili bili, Nimo TV, YouTube, Booyah, Kakao, Penrec.tv, loco, Dohyu, Huya and Garena.

Advertisement strategies and celebrity endorsement to achieve higher consumer base is constantly appealing for higher market growth across the Asia-Pacific region. Brands like Porsche have hosted esports tournaments. The Porsche Asia Pacific Forza Cup reached over 24.7 Million people in the region, and its Grand Finals was streamed live on Facebook, YouTube and Twitch across 14 countries. The brand claims 56,429 viewers tuned in across the region. On the other hand, ASUS ROG hosted its first ROG Masters Asia Pacific esports tournament in 2021, from March to April. Due to COVID-19 pandemic affecting travel around the region, the tournament was conducted entirely online, with quarterfinal to final match’s live-streamed. The ROG Masters tournament featured Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) as the official game title which provided an opportunity to teams with enthusiastic players to pitch their skills against each other, as well as the best professional teams from their market and in the region.

Recent Esport Launch
• In 2022, Blizzard Entertainment launched Diablo Immortal across the selected Asia Pacific regions. The game is available for iOS, Android, and PC (Open Beta version) in selected regions including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macao, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. The game was also launched in Vietnam, but for PC (Open Beta version).
• In August 2022, Republic of Gamers announced the official launch of the ROG Masters Asia Pacific 2022 e-sports tournament. Sporting a US$40,000 prize pool and featuring Tom Clancy's Rainbow SIx: Siege for the first time, the circuit brought together teams from all across the region looking for their shot at tactical shooter glory. As for the format, the tournament circuit was held exclusively on the PC version of the game and featured the 5v5 Bomb gameplay mode.

Publisher & Esports Game Title in Asia-Pacific
Blizzard Entertainment (Overwatch), Activision (Call of Duty), Riot Games (League of Legends & Valorant), Valve Corporation (Counter Strike & Dota 2), Tencent (Arena of Valor, PUBG Mobile), Moonton (Mobile Legends Diamonds), Electronic Arts (Apex Legends), Nintendo (Super Smash Bros), PUBG Corporation (PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds), Garena (Free Fire).

Leading Esport Teams in Asia-Pacific
Ninjas in Pyjamas, Victory Five, CF E-SPORTS, Four Angry Men, Gen.G, Royal Never Give Up, Heavy, Saigon Buffalo, Team Wolf, Sina Corporation, Blacklist International, Bigetron Ace, LGD Gaming, Talon Esports, T1 Esports, Invictus team, DWG KIA, DetonatioN Gaming, fennel, Dire Wolves, ROX

Upcoming Esport Tournaments in Asia-Pacific
Valorant esports Events and Tournaments, Asia Pacific Predator League 2022 Dota 2, Asia Pacific Cup Fall 2022, TEKKEN 7 Fight Nights Weekly Cup,, FIFA 22 1on1 Friday Open Series Cup , Street Fighter V 1on1 Fight Nights Weekly Cup, FIFA 23 1on1 Open Series Weekly Qualifier , FIFA 23 FUT Open Series Weekly Qualifier , FIFA 22 1on1 Saturday Open Series Cup ,FIFA 23 1on1 Open Series Weekly Qualifier, FIFA 23 FUT Open Series Weekly Qualifier , StarCraft 2 Open Cup, FIFA 22 1on1 Sunday Open Series Cup , FIFA 23 FUT Open Series Weekly Qualifier , FIFA 23 1on1 Open Series Weekly Qualifier , FIFA 23 FUT Open Series Weekly Qualifier , FIFA 23 1on1 Open Series Weekly Qualifier , Mobile Suit Gundam Fight Nights Biweekly Cup , TEKKEN 7 Fight Nights Weekly Cup, FIFA 23 FUT Open Series Monthly Final , FIFA 23 FUT Open Series Monthly Final , Guilty Gear Strive Fight Nights Monthly Cup, FIFA 23 1on1 Open Series Monthly Final , FIFA 23 1on1 Open Series Monthly Final , The King of Fighters XV Fight Nights Monthly Cup, StarCraft 2 Open Cup, Street Fighter V 1on1 Fight Nights Bieekly Cup, StarCraft 2 Open Cup

Major Sponsor Industries in Asia-Pacific
Athletic & Sportswear (Puma, Adidas), Food & Beverages (Red Bull, Harbin Brewery, KFC), Oil & Gas (ExxonMobil), Mobile Phones & Tablets (Samsung, OPPO, One Plus), Automotive Manufacturer (Mercedes-Benz, BMW), Gaming Hardware & Peripherals (Razer, Logitech), Compluter Hardware (Intel, Lenovo), Bank (Hana Bank, Ping An Bank)

Esport Start-ups in Asia-Pacific
WAKAW.LIVE, EssentiallySports, esportsXO, Joyride Games, Xasy, Techno xo, Klutchh, EMSpyre Enterprise, EJN, EVOS Esports, EMERGE Esports, Golive Games Studios, Leet9 and GoodGame Nation are some of the Top esports Startups in Asia.

Major Companies present in the market:
Activision Blizzard Inc, Intel Corporation, NVIDIA Corporation, Electronic Arts Inc, Wargaming Public, Rovio Entertainment, alphabet Inc (YouTube), Twitch Interactive, Inc., Facebook, Inc, Beyond The Summit, Riot Games, Inc, Sony Group Corporation, HTC Corporation, Gfinity plc, Nintendo, Loco (Stoughton Street Tech Labs Limited)

Considered in this report
• Geography: Asia-Pacific
• Historic year: 2017
• Base year: 2022
• Estimated year: 2023
• Forecast year: 2028

Aspects covered in this report
• Asia-Pacific esport market with its value and forecast along with its segments
• Country-wise esport market analysis
• Various drivers and challenges
• On-going trends and developments
• Top profiled companies
• Strategic recommendation

Countries covered in the report:
• China
• Japan
• India
• Australia
• South Korea

By Revenue Streams:
• Sponsorship
• Media Rights
• Merchandise & Tickets
• Publisher Fees
• Digital
• Streaming

By Device Type:
• Mobile (Smartphone, Tablet)
• PC (Laptop, Desktop)
• Gaming Device (Console, Handheld Devices)
• Other (VR, Smart TV, etc.)

The approach of the report:
This report consists of a combined approach of primary as well as secondary research. Initially, secondary research was used to get an understanding of the market and list out the companies that are present in the market. The secondary research consists of third-party sources such as press releases, and annual reports of companies, analyzing the government-generated reports and databases. After gathering the data from secondary sources primary research was conducted by making telephonic interviews with the leading players about how the market is functioning and then conducting trade calls with dealers and distributors of the market. Post this we have started doing primary calls to consumers by equally segmenting consumers into regional aspects, tier aspects, age groups, and gender. Once we have primary data with us we started verifying the details obtained from secondary sources.

Intended audience
This report can be useful to industry consultants, manufacturers, suppliers, associations & organizations related to the esport industry, government bodies, and other stakeholders to align their market-centric strategies. In addition to marketing & presentations, it will also increase competitive knowledge about the industry.