Mobile eSports: The one to watch

The eSports global market grew to $116 billion last year, a year-on-year growth of 10.7%. Moving away from traditional gaming consoles, mobile eSports is also on the rise and is likely to boom.

According to a report by Newzoo, mobile gaming revenues in 2017 reached an impressive $50.4 billion, accumulating 43% of the global video game market. Steady growth is expected in mobile gaming over the next two years with revenues are likely to reach $72.3 billion by 2020, as mobile quickly becomes the biggest gaming screen worldwide.

Unlike traditional gaming, mobile gaming appeals to a wider demographic of women, as well as men. Among 3,300 respondents in a report by Newzoo, over 64% of female gamers prefer mobile over other gaming platforms.

In competitive mobile gaming, Clash Royale is the new, upcoming contender in mobile eSports with 120 million downloads since its launch in January 2016. Mobile game developer Supercell has recently recruited 36 of the world’s top eSports organisations to participate in its new Clash Royale League.

The success of the Clash Royale tournaments has inspired game developers to invest in mobile in hope of growing brand popularity within mobile eSports.

PUBG, one of the most popular video games in eSports is now playable on Android and IOS in China, the UK and the US. Although it is not currently available to download worldwide, mobile PUBG is already rocketing to the top of the download charts. In China, there were 75 million pre-orders after its announcement in November last year.

Competitive play is still new to the mobile gaming market, but the momentum is growing. Mobile eSports has the advantage of convenience when compared to console and PC sports. A platform that has the foundation to succeed, mobile eSports could be the next craze in gaming, rivalling the success of traditional eSports.