A growing group of people are competing professionally as video gamers. And like real-world sports pros, they’re playing in leagues, receiving sponsorships, even college scholarships! The volume of money they can earn is astonishing. So is the amount of time their fans spend watching them play. Welcome to eSports, the Texas Hold’em craze for this next chapter in our digital age.

1. ESPORTS:
THE MOXIE FUTURE EXPERIENCES REPORT
A growing group of people are
competing professionally as video
gamers. And like real-wor d sports
pros, they’re playing in leagues,
receiving sponsorships and gaining
followers. The volume of money
they can earn is astonishing. So is
the amount of time their fans spend
watching them play. Welcome to
eSports, the Texas Hold’em craze for
this next chapter in our digital age.
FROM NICHE TO MAINSTREAM
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2. various StarCraft II events, but also hosts , a multicity gaming series where professional (yes, professional)
StarCraft ll players from across the globe battle to win a $50,000 grand prize. Another example: Relativity Media’s partnership with
players at the highest level of skill and acumen play video games. As with traditional sports, eSports have superstar players whose
feats and achievements seem to defy logic. There are up-and-coming contenders, too — talented upstarts clamoring for their spots
in the digital limelight. With all these parallels to real world sports, it’s no wonder eSports’ popularity is growing by the minute.
According to an IHS Technology
.
increasing steadily ever since.
According to a report from
times a month, with session lengths averaging 2.2 hours.
1 4 . 9
S E R I E S
1 5 . 7
N C A A
F I N A L F O U R
C H A M P I O N S H I P C H A M P I O N S H I P

3. M O S T P O P U L A R E S P O R T:

4. 1 s t p l a c e p r i z e : $ 1 m i l l i o n
> T h e s t a d i u m w a s t h e v e n u e f o r t h e 2 0 0 2 F I FA
> T i c k e t s s o l d o u t — 4 0 , 0 0 0 f a n s a t t e n d e d

5. Software makers and venues aren’t the only ones cashing in. Like
their counterparts in more traditional sports, top players can take
home hefty winnings from these competitions — in some cases,
enough to make a more-than-decent living.
T H E P L AY E R S
T h e O d d O n e
> A g e : 2 5
> C a n a d a
> A g e : 2 2
> U n i t e d S t a t e s
> A g e : 2 1
> U n i t e d S t a t e s

6. The rise of online video streaming platforms, such as YouTube (explored in our previous OTT report
online eSports
viewership — and online consumption is expected to
account for
platform and community for gamers, for $1 billion. After three months of silence, e-commerce giant Amazon swooped in and closed
the deal to acquire Twitch for approximately $1.1 billion — its largest acquisition to date. In July, Twitch had 55 million unique
visitors eyeballing over 15 billion minutes (250 million hours) of game-related content. The site has seen explosive growth
The Twitch acquisition was a savvy move by Amazon. It will help Amazon build out its strategy to become a leading video content
box doesn’t seem odd at all. In fact, it seems downright genius. Xbox and PlayStation you’ve both been put on notice.

7. Like real-world sports, eSports teams have avid fans and intense rivalries. Hundreds of thousands of people watch Riot’s League
of Legends Championship Series every week. How many traditional sports teams can boast these numbers before playoff season?
the case for motocross riders and snowboarders in the not-so-distant past? Now these athletes compete on the world stage in
national and international games and participate in highly watched events in both the Summer and Winter Olympics.
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ships with eSports software companies. Microsoft recently acquired one of the most popular video games in history — Minecraft
and rich opportunity to connect with untapped audiences across multiple platforms.
Hollywood started dabbling in eSports earlier this year when Lionsgate sponsored a StarCraft ll tournament to support the
Lionsgate is clearly making a proactive attempt to strengthen the relationship between Hollywood and the ever-growing eSports
industry. It’s a pretty safe bet that more companies will follow with similar partnerships.

8. Some brands have already taken the hint. Intel has sponsored eSports
keyboards and mouse pads for tournaments.
The implications are simple
To learn more about how you can align your brand with the booming eSports industry, contact Moxie Future Experiences at
FX@MoxieUSA.com.

9. Moxie Future Experiences (MoxieFX) delivers insights
on our digital future. We future-enable our clients by
identifying the implications of new and emerging
technologies, trends and disruptive ideas. We drive
brands forward by applying real-world digital and
physical solutions that lay the groundwork for
strategies, products and systems.
Follow @MoxieFutureX on Twitter.
Contact:
Moxie Future Experiences Team
FX@MoxieUSA.com
www.moxieusa.com
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