Appendix 4E - Preliminary Final Report 30 June 2024

What’s the story behind esports, and why should market participants should consider investing?

Esports — or electronic sports — is competitive gaming. Just like traditional sports, some games are one-on-one, while others are team-based; however, these matches are played using computers or game consoles.

Esports fans can tune into these competitive events via a variety of streaming services such as the game-streaming service Twitch, which has seen a large jump in viewers and streamers since the COVID-19 pandemic. There were 2.44 million average concurrent viewers in May 2023 compared to 1.26 million in May 2019, and 6.82 million streamers in May 2023 compared to 3.93 million in May 2019.

Gaming has become a central part of life for people across the world, and in recent years the adjacent esports sector has caught the attention of investors interested in thetech space.

But esports is still a new market, and if you're new it’s good to start with the basics. Let’s take a look at four facts on how esports began, the industry’s rise in popularity and, of course, where this exciting scene is headed.