Photo by Stem List on Unsplash
As with any other sport, esports has huge, varied fanbases. Many of us have a good idea of which types of people cheer on football and tennis - are esports different? The demographics that apply to sports such as League of Legends and Starcraft are interesting to inspect.
What’s also interesting is that there may be a significant sway towards esports from traditional events. Let’s dig a bit further down into the data.
More and More People are Cheering on Esports
The data doesn’t lie. Global changes in recent times have led to curtailing of some traditional sports. That, on its own, may have increased esports’ global reach. However, the data shows that spiking interest in these sports was already on a healthy upcurve.
Data shows that audience growth skyrocketed from around 395 million viewers in 2018 to approximately 495 million in 2020. That’s 100 million additional fans in the space of two years. The data, originally produced in 2020 by NewZoo, shows that more and more people are getting involved with esports. This isn’t slowing down any time soon.
Further reports predict that we will likely be heading towards a global audience of almost 600 million by 2025. That’s around 8-9% of the global population - an incredible reach!
What Are the Main Demographics?
The demographics for esports appear to be in flux. While not all fans will take time to read an esports blog or buy apparel, demographic data shows exciting shifts. Fan culture for esports seems to be male dominated - however, it is likely less so than many people may imagine.
Reports show that around 72% of esports viewers are male. This is a clear majority, however, it shows a 9% increase in female viewership across four years. That is a significant shift in the makeup of fans.
Data from a few years ago further identifies that Generation Z - people born after 1996 - are most receptive. Slight tipping over the 50% mark shows most Gen Z people surveyed regard esports as just as important as traditional pursuits. The data suggests this is further tipping in favour of esports, in fact.
Further demographic insights appear to suggest there are more people over the age of 44 enjoying esports than anticipated. Could this be a sign that growth in esports betting culture is bringing in older fans? Statistics show that around 16% of esports fans are aged between 45 and 64. Interestingly, at least 19% of viewers are older millennials between 35 and 44.
How Do People Cheer on Esports?
Esports cheering, as you might imagine, can be a little bit different to supporting traditional teams. Much like you’d expect with tennis or golf, esports rely on a lot of nerve and resolve. Therefore, loud crowds and chants likely don’t occur until midplay or during breaks.
Fittingly, much of the esports viewership action is likely to take place from afar. Shifts towards streaming and mobile viewership are growing stronger. This, of course, may be affected by changes globally over the past 18 months.
However, what’s really interesting is that esports fans appear to be changing in terms of age and demographic. The world is opening up more to these sports, too. This could result from more betting sites hosting odds and spreads for the big name games. For example, it is not unheard of to find markets at online bookmakers for CS:GO and DOTA2.
Experts believe it may not be long before esports go ‘fully mainstream’. With around 8% of the planet tuning in by mid-decade, this might happen sooner than we think.
