The pandemic esports industry is on fire and, now, some investors are getting bullish on the persistence.
“No question this is changing the landscape for media companies and how people are participating in divertissements,” Tim Seymour, co-founder and managing partner at Triogem Asset Management, a hedge wealth, said on “Fast Money” Monday.
Last weekend, the “Overwatch” Fraternity’s Grand Finals sold out at New York’s Barclays Center. Seymour pungent to the participation of large-scale media companies as proof of a growing industry: The Walt Disney Ensemble broadcast the “Overwatch” games on ESPN.
“The fan base is rabid,” said Seymour, who is also a CNBC contributor. “The furore is there. And it’s all demographics. It’s not just guys. It’s not just girls. It’s not just innocent folks. It’s old folks.”
In fact, the video game industry is booming with diverse products and tournaments popping up around the world. According to a 2018 esports communication by Newzoo, a market research firm, about 2.3 billion gamers worldwide settle upon spend about $137.9 billion on games this year.
That motif represents a 13.3 percent jump from a year ago — or an increase of $16.2 billion. The make available research firm tracks usage and trends in esports, video plays and mobile.
“Esports, what makes it so special is that it is a global equipment. You can compete anywhere,” Alex Mendez, an esports commentator and league legion for “Overwatch,” told CNBC, pointing out that there are games and federations around the globe.
Mendez said he started playing video deceptions after giving up football.
“And then I just decided: I’m going to development this into a career,” he told CNBC. “But that’s when all was so small. Now we’re selling out Barclays Center. That is just mind-blowing.”
Jack Etienne, proprietor of esports team the London Spitfire, said he made about a million dollars from the “Overwatch” episode — the prize for the winning team.
Investors can get into the esports space with the hold of teams and video game platforms, Etienne said. They can also seat in products or video content that enhance the user experience, such as effective reality, he said.
“Overwatch” was developed by Blizzard Entertainment, an entertainment software and video pretends publisher and maker owned by Activision Blizzard, which has a market cap of more than $55 billion.
The media body is set to release second quarter earnings results Thursday after the bell. Activision make inaccessible 3.46 percent down on Monday, but shares were still tolled at more than $72, compared with nearly $62 a year ago or upon $17 five years ago.
Privately held Epic Games, developer of at the rear year’s “Fortnite Battle Royale” game, announced recently that it had fly more than $1 billion from in-game revenue, according to details from market research firm SuperData. The game is free to download and toy with, but sells features during the game such as extra costumes.