The rapid rise of esports is important not just for fans but also for the industry itself. The esports industry is spurring the development of younger and more innovative developers.
The 2019 China Game Industry Report said the revenue of the country's esports industry had reached nearly 95 billion yuan. China now has more than 440 million esports players, nearly double what it was five years ago. More than 80 percent of the nation's esports companies and clubs are based in Shanghai, and more than 40 percent of China's esports tournaments are held in the city.
The Freestyle Pro league tournament started over the weekend with the usual three players on each team. Online viewership hit nearly 470,000 over the first two days, but the popularity of the game goes far beyond that. The basketball-themed video game was released 15 years ago and now has 200 million users and close to half a million active players each day. How did it get that big?
The video game was first brought to the esports competition in 2017. The cost at the time was considerable. So, what has the game developer gained from it?
“We develop some clothes, tools and virtual derivatives after each competition. Users get interested in them and then are likely to buy. If an in-game accessory is equipped with the characteristics of the competition or the winning team, its profit could jump 20 to 30 percent. And the purchasing volume could increase by five percent to 10 percent," said Lu Yong, the manager of T2 Entertainment's esports department.
The esports industry is a much better promoter for a game than celebrity endorsements. A celebrity has to be paid for each appearance, whereas players and content can be used as many times as a developer wants and can, therefore, maintain the popularity of a game over a longer period.
"Esports can help extend the game life. Now that we have entered the mobile game era, the saleable life of a game has dropped significantly. In the past, a game could be active for five to 10 years. But now, the shortest game life is just no more than half a year. Esports competitions prolong the life of a video game and help recover costs," Han Shuai, secretary-general of the Shanghai Online Game Association.
Not all games are suitable for esports competitions, however. A high-quality interactive and competitive game is a must, and a patient and determined backer is also important.
"A game for an esports competition has to be high quality and have a large user base, and that means a developer with serious resources. Small game producers need more time to collect a large user base. For example, it was only until the finals of the eighth season of League of Legends World Championship that the competition became popular. Before that, the competition had to be financed by the game developer Riot Games out of its pocket," Han said.
The Shanghai E-sports Association has launched a series of measures to help small- and medium-sized game developers find their way in the industry.
"The whole esports industry should have not only leading players but also small- and medium-sized companies. For those smaller players, the promotion of their games and competitions may be a great problem. So we have gathered many resources, including esports' leading players and advertisers from other industries for support," said Xu Bo, the director of Shanghai E-sports Association.