Before diving into the dominant players, it‘s important to understand the sheer size and increasing relevance of esports within interactive entertainment.
Defined loosely as professional video gaming competitions, the esports industry has witnessed stratospheric growth over the past decade. Global esports revenue is projected to top $1.62 billion in 2022, per market intelligence firm Newzoo. To put that into context, the global film industry generated just over $100 billion last year.
Newzoo estimates that there are now over 474 million esports viewers worldwide in 2022. To capture this young and highly engaged demographic, sponsorship spending increased to $626 million this past year.
As those figures illustrate, competitive gaming content and fandom have gone thoroughly mainstream. What was once seen as niche entertainment has blossomed into a central pillar of internet and gaming culture.
The companies discussed below have capitalized on this rising wave to various degrees. Through game development, league organization, media distribution, and structural enablement, these diverse businesses cultivate the modern esports ecosystem that allows professional video gaming to realized its massive monetization potential.
Empowering Young Competitors Through Accessible Esports
Founded in 2014 and based in Santa Monica, California, Super League Gaming focuses on amateur esports experiences for casual gamers alongside nascent professional programs and content….
Swedish Esports Company With Broad Reach
Based in Sweden and founded in 2002, Fragbite Group encompasses several arms focused on esports services and tournament organization alongside media properties….
Producing Competitions In-Person and Virtually
Allied Esports serves the esports industry through event production and promotion, content creation, and the operation of dedicated gaming facilities…
Leading Esports and Entertainment Brand
Founded as a gaming clan in 2010, FaZe Clan has evolved into one of the most recognized esports and online entertainment brands worldwide…
Mobile Games and Esports in Emerging Markets
Operating primarily in India and other emerging markets, Nazara Technologies focuses on mobile games publishing along with esports event organization…
Pioneers of Esports Game Streaming
As a pioneer of game live streaming based in China, Huya has become one of the largest esports media platforms worldwide…
AAA Game Developer Expanding into Esports
Although not exclusively focused on esports, global video game giant Take-Two Interactive has made significant investments across competitive gaming leagues, teams, events, and titles…
Competitive Gaming Leader Through Iconic Sports Franchises
Through its industry-leading sports titles and expansive competitive gaming infrastructure, Electronic Arts (EA) has cemented itself as one of the most influential esports organizations ever…
Architects of Modern Esports Industry & Infrastructure
No company has done more to evolve esports into the global spectacle it represents today than Activision Blizzard. The publisher behind iconic franchises like Call of Duty, Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and Diablo has pioneered some of the most developed competitive ecosystems in all of gaming…
World‘s Largest Gaming Company Anchoring Esports Ecosystems
As the world‘s largest gaming firm by revenue, Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent dominates the industry across game development, publishing, distribution, esports, and investments…
As esports continues its seemingly inexorable rise towards mainstream recognition and profits, these vanguard companies building up competitive gaming will reap the rewards…
