By PENG Xin

The global e-sports industry is expected to generate US$1.38 billion (8.9 billion yuan) in revenue this year, up 22 percent, with China accounting for one-third of the total, according to the 2022 Global E-sports and Live Streaming Market Report released on April 20. Based on a compound annual growth rate of 13.4 percent, the global e-sports output is to reach US$1.86 billion by 2025. The figure combines esports industry-related sponsorships, prize pools and event revenues, without including esports game revenues.

For now, the e-sports business is centered on clubs, attracting a large number of players online and game matches offline, with a steady increase in audiences. The global e-sports audience is expected to reach 532 million this year and climb to 640 million by 2025.

China is the largest regional market mainly thanks to investment from game companies such as Tencent, and the wide audience for e-sports in China, resulting in forming a complete e-sports market ecosystem.