Can Esports be a Sustainable Business?

"The Neighbor's Pie" Problem

You remember those old cartoons where the main character would catch a whiff of a freshly baked pie and they'd start levitating towards it? That's a lot like what the Esports industry has been experiencing over the last 5 years. The pie is baked by Game Publishers and everyone (Esports Orgs, Production Companies, Streaming Services & VC, etc) wants a slice.

The biggest problem currently is that most orgs simply don't own major revenue sources. Everyone is trying to get a tiny slice of the pie that is owned by game publishers. These publishers don't NEED competitive gaming in order to sell their games.  The biggest competitive scenes today like LoL, DOTA 2, CSGO, Smash, Call of Duty, Valorant, & Apex are not dependent on the scene in order to sell copies and in-game assets. Some, but not all publishers get involved to help shape the culture but it takes effort on their side to make it happen. Their overall presence is often polarizing, given that sentiment regarding publisher involvement varies from community to community. Across the industry, you have Esports Orgs, production companies, streaming services, venue operators, and a bunch of other subgroups & businesses trying to survive in a field that doesn't generate a ton of money. Case in point: Esports needs a new pie (revenue source) to eat from. The pie that people have been eating up until this point simply isn't feasible enough for everyone to survive.

How did we get here?

The Bubble of 2018

2018 was a magnificent year for Esports Organizations all around the industry. Investors were lining up to get involved in this exciting, rapidly-emerging industry that had been forecasted by research partners everywhere as a prospective gold-mine.

Inflated Expenses, Minimal Income

Challenges in Advertising

The Fleeting Nature of Esports

Coming Soon: The Good Things →