4 Countries With the Biggest E-Sports Market

If you are a regular visitor of the online gaming world, then you are probably familiar with the term e-sports. Typically, when professional gamers play multiplayer video games in a competitive setting for viewers to enjoy, it is called e-sports. Millions of viewers across the world enjoy e-sports and that is why it is now a billion-dollar industry. A lot of gamers play competitive video games. These are so popular that they have movies, shows, and documentaries made about them as well. But what are the countries that have the biggest markets for e-sports? We are going to talk about that in this article.

1. China

If you are an avid gamer or have any knowledge of the current e-sports market, then this should come as no surprise to you. But you might underestimate how large the e-sports market in China is. The market has the most revenue on e-sports amongst all countries. About 250 million people in China participate in e-sports. Either by playing or watching. It is the biggest e-sports market in the world and still growing. Some of the most popular games in China are League of Legends and Dota 2. The e-sports player with the most earning in China is Wang Chunyu (Ame). He has collected about $3.4 million playing Dota 2.

2. The United States of America

This list will not be complete without the USA. Gamers and e-sports players from the USA are some of the most popular players in the whole world. And of course, their popularity and skills bring in a lot of revenues. A US-based team called SoloMid rose to fame after their success in the game League of Legends. At that time, they were as popular as some of the renowned basketball and football teams. Games like Fortnite and Call of Duty are very famous in America. There are about 14,000 estimated e-sports players in America and the people love to watch them play in international tournaments. Effectively bringing in a lot of revenues. The top-earning e-ports player of the USA is Kyle Giersdorf (Bugha) who has earned about $3.17 million playing Fortnite.

3. South Korea

Even though South Korea is the country that first created the e-sports industry, they are not the first on the list. The main reason for that is even though the country is pretty tech-savvy, the population of South Korea is a lot less than in countries like China or USA. They are also not as economically powerful as the other two. Even so, they are a growing market, and e-sports tournaments are very popular in South Korea. Even though they have fewer numbers of players than many other countries, their players are very adaptable to new situations. That is why people love watching them play. Some of the most famous games in the South Korean e-sports market are CS: GO, Dota 2, League of Legends, and many more.

The highest-earning e-sports player in South Korea is League of Legend champion Lee Sang Hyeok (Faker), who has made about $1.3 million.

4. Japan

Many of you might think that Japan should have ranked higher on the list. But the reason why it is not higher up is the country’s strict gambling laws. A lot of e-sports revenue comes from betting, so if people are not allowed to bet, the revenues would be lower. Even so, Japan has one of the best gaming cultures of all the countries, and e-sports is quite big there too. That is the reason why Japan made it to this list even though e-sports revenue is much lower here than in other countries.

Growing Markets

Even though they did not make it to the list, we have to list some other countries here. Western Europe as a whole has one of the largest e-sports markets in the world. These games are really popular there and people also love watching and betting. Countries with larger populations like India are also coming into the field of emerging e-sports markets. Hopefully, e-sports will see a rise in other countries as well. The top-earning e-ports player of Japan is known by his player ID ‘feg’. He has earned about $1 million playing Shadowverse.

Conclusion

The world of gaming is ever-changing. One popular game can change the map of the e-sports world. That is why many young and talented individuals from different countries are wishing to be able to play in tournaments. Not only does it bring in a lot of money, but also fame and satisfaction only a player can understand. And gaming enthusiasts also love watching and betting on these games. All in all, the world of online gaming is insanely popular and it is bound to gain even more popularity in the upcoming years. So we can hope to see a surge in e-sports revenues and popularity in other countries as well.