US E-Sports player Ian Porter, gamertag "Crimsix" of the OpTic Gaming's team, competes in "Call of Duty" during an electronic video game tournament at the eSports World Convention (ESWC) in 2017 in Paris, France
US E-Sports player Ian Porter, gamertag "Crimsix" of the OpTic Gaming's team, competes a video game "Call of Duty" developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision during an electronic video game tournament at the eSports World Convention (ESWC) on February 18, 2017 in Paris, France. The ESWC is the historic and emblematic event of electronic sports, bringing together every year since 2003 the best players in the world in video game tournaments designed as real live shows and broadcast live on the Internet or on television. 20 of the biggest American teams of Call of Duty will be present to compete in the tournament CWL Paris Open. Never had an event organized in Europe so much engaged the American eSport community. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)
Culture Archive Youth

Fortnite, NBA 2K and Overwatch set stage in 2019 for esports

Trej Bell |
US e-sports player Ian Porter, gamertag "Crimsix" of the OpTic Gaming's team, competes in  "Call of Duty" in 2017. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)

Key games, new sponsors and an increased investment in team sponsorship has esports at the top of its game as the 2019 calendar begins.

A frenzy propelled Fortnite onto the gaming scene in 2018 and now possesses more than 200 million registered users and generated more than $1 billion solely off in-game purchases.

Esports are expected to continue to grow throughout 2019

Twitch was responsible for a great deal of exposure the game received. Streamers were able to captivate the highly sought-after younger demographic: 45 percent of teens age 13-17 watched Fortnite gaming content/streams.

The streaming service peaked in May 2018, when Fortnite topped 130 million hours of streams watched. That earned the game the title of Twitch’s most watched game of 2018.

 

Graph portraying Twitch top content from Jan. 1, 2018- Dec. 27, 2018

Graphic via The Esports Observer

Fortnite began its transition into the esports world with skirmish events throughout 2018, but it could be at the pinnacle of esports competition this year with the scheduled Fortnite World Cup.

Games such as Overwatch and NBA 2K, while already established in the esports community, have been improving their market growth.

Esports have demonstrated the ability of these leagues to capture big-name brands, such as Champion and Coca-Cola, as their sponsors. Esports increased its ability to gain ‘non-endemic’ support from well-established brands to extend its credibility within the sports community and NBA 2K has played a significant role.

 

Graphic via Nielsen

The esports apparel market, like the leagues, has also tapped into sponsorships with one of the largest gains according to Nielsen Esport24 data, which showed a 12-percent increase (to 23 percent) in QI media value.

As esports continues its penetration into the broad market, the opportunity has enticed their stakeholders and made notice to the skeptics of its business and sport.

Trej Bell is a junior sports journalism major at Arizona State University

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