The Asia esports market is more than 54% of the $1 billion dollar global esports market.

SILICON VALLEY, Calif. – July 22, 2021 – Niko Partners, a market research and consulting firm covering video games, esports, and streaming in Asia, today announced the release of the 2021 Esports in Asia report. Asia is the world’s largest and most important region for esports and Niko’s report covers the esports markets of China, Chinese Taipei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Key takeaways from the reports include:

  • Esports in Asia generated US $543.8 million in revenue in 2020, representing a 4.9% increase over 2019 despite the challenges of COVID-19 and is on a strong course in 2021. This excludes the revenue generated by games and includes the revenue of the industry of esports.
  • The Asia esports market accounts for more than 54% of the nearly US $1 Billion-dollar global esports market.
  • The value of esports licensing and media rights grew in 2020 as platforms sought content and sponsors sought alternatives to relationships with traditional sports media. Esports’ ability to move to online-only play made them a popular alternative to live media events impacted by new regulations.
  • Esports viewership in Asia boomed in 2020, growing to 618.4 million esports spectators in 2020. This is a 21% increase over 510m Asian esports spectators in 2019.
  • We expect licencing and partnerships to be the fastest growing parts of the esports ecosystem as global viewership continues to rise.

“After a few difficult months in H1 much of the industry was back on track. Although tournaments were no longer in person, sponsorship and media deals were on the rise. As one of the few live-sports industries able to deliver its product virtually, esports was able to court investors from other segments,” said Lisa Hanson, founder and president of Niko Partners. “In 2020, esports viewership boomed during COVID-19 lockdowns and esports titles saw a surge in new players. While tournament ecosystems struggled in the move to online play in some markets, the value of esports content was at an all-time high by year-end thanks to a steady increase in the esports audience.”

Niko’s research methodology includes online surveys of gamers, trends analysis on key topics, leading games and game company market share estimates, review of regulations and policy plus interviews of game publishers, analysis of drivers and inhibitors for growth, review of distribution, hardware, payments, internet cafes, and more.

For more information visit:

2021 Esports in Asia report

ABOUT NIKO PARTNERS

Niko Partners is the leading market research firm covering video games, esports, and streaming in Asia. Founded in 2002, the firm conducts syndicated and custom research studies on China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Chinese Taipei, Japan, South Korea, and India on the topics of online games, mobile games, consoles and console games, regulatory issues, piracy, development, online operators, distribution, internet cafes, retail and more. Niko Partners also offers consulting services including focus groups, partnership selection, IPO and market opportunity analysis, custom surveys in cities throughout China and the Asia Pacific region, and customized data analysis. The company is based in Silicon Valley with offices in Shanghai, Bangkok, Jakarta and London, and its clients include worldwide leaders in game software, hardware, and services, as well as hedge funds, media companies, trade associations, and management consulting firms, all of whom have a vested interest in a thorough understanding of the region. www.nikopartners.com