Analyzing the Russian Esports Market: Insights and Trends
The Russian esports market has experienced substantial growth, becoming the fastest-growing segment within the video game industry. According to PwC, in 2019, the market’s value reached $28.6 million USD, with a projected compound average growth rate of 14.9% until 2024.
Moscow, known for its developed infrastructure and passionate fan base, has emerged as the primary center for esports tournaments in the country. The city has successfully hosted prominent events, including the Epicenter Major 2019 Dota 2 tournament, which attracted 202,000 viewers and amassed nearly 2.4 million hours of live stream viewing. Additionally, Moscow hosted the BLAST Pro Series, a notable CS:GO tournament with a prize pool of $250,000 USD. In 2019, ticket sales from these major events generated $2.3 million USD, marking a 38.9% increase compared to the previous year.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of large tournaments such as the Epicenter Major in 2020. The Moscow BLAST Premier Spring Series 2020 for CS:GO (Spring Final) took place online. Despite these challenges, Russia ranks 7th globally in terms of prize winnings, with 3,837 professional esports players earning over $31 million USD in total, according to Esports Earnings.
Sponsorship remains a significant revenue stream in esports, accounting for 62.8% ($18 million USD) of the market’s value in 2019. Businesses are increasingly interested in integrating with esports, offering sponsorship opportunities for clubs, tournaments, and individual gamers. This integration takes various forms, including advertising partnerships with popular esports brands, arena branding, and integration into tournaments. Notably, in 2019, MegaFon and ESforce Holding received the Effie Russia advertising and marketing award in the Sponsorship category, while the automotive brand Haval entered into an agreement with esports club Virtus.pro, providing support for their Dota 2 team.
These developments highlight the growing interest from businesses and the evolving landscape of the Russian esports market, creating exciting opportunities for collaboration, sponsorship, and further expansion within the industry.
Impact of COVID-19 on the Esports Market
Contrary to initial concerns, the esports industry was not ruined by the COVID-19 pandemic; instead, it experienced a surge in growth and an increase in its audience of viewers and gamers. Esports sits at the intersection of two areas that saw a boost during the pandemic: technological services and systems, and entertaining content that can be enjoyed from the comfort of one’s home. With the overall significant growth of the video game market during lockdown, the desire to watch esports contests has also been nurtured.
Notably, major sponsors such as Coca-Cola, BMW, Gillette, Nike, Louis Vuitton, Kia Motors, and Xiaomi have invested in esports competitions and teams, further enhancing the industry’s growth.
Esports Audience in Russia
According to a study by Nielsen Sports, the esports audience in Russia witnessed a 28% increase in 2020 compared to the previous year, reaching 15.4 million individuals aged 13 and above. The study reveals that among esports fans, 64% are men and 36% are women, with an average income of 41,700 rubles per capita. An interesting observation is that a significant percentage (25%) of fans started following esports matches within the last year, with women accounting for 54% of this group.
In terms of age preferences, minors aged 13-17 constitute 20% of the Russian esports audience, followed by youth aged 18-24 (35%) and individuals aged 25-34 (31%). Adults aged 35-40 make up 12% of the audience. Notably, a noteworthy trend during the pandemic was the active growth of the female audience in Russia.
It is worth mentioning the popularity of the Russian language in esports content on the streaming platform Twitch, which features game streams and esports tournaments. You can find a list of the top Russian streamers in our blog post “2021 Best Streamers Ranking on the Russian Internet.”
If you are interested in promoting your game in the Russian market, the experts at QB marketing agency can assist you in developing and implementing a strategy to capture the attention of Russian gamers.