The European eSport market
Competitive video gaming has become a real industry. Today, the global eSport market is so dynamic that it even interests the International Olympic Committee. Companies, which are largely driving up the revenues of this market, are flourishing in the eSport sector. The European eSport market is a good example of this truth, since of the 1.6 billion dollars expected in 2021, more than a quarter would come from activities concentrated in Europe.
Eventually, the eSport era could well be European
In 2018, SuperData Research conducted an analysis on behalf of PayPal across twenty-one countries in Europe. The result is that Russia, Sweden, France, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, Portugal and Belgium are the eSports strongholds in the old continent. In 2018, the former alone gathered $52 million in revenue thanks to eSports against $43 million for Sweden and $30 million for France.
If eSport has easily seduced the general public and seems to settle in the daily life of Europeans - especially the 15-34 years old -, it is because the biggest companies invest heavily in eSport, like ESWC and some French actors such as Renault, Volvic or the FDJ. Moreover, in terms of audience, the countries that gather the largest number of viewers on eSport matches are none other than Russia, the United Kingdom and France. In France, TV channels dedicated to eSports are increasingly numerous: ES1, L'Équipe TV, BeIn... all try to compete with the indomitable Twitch. But while previously, in Europe, eSport was developed within organizations in several countries at a purely national level, today things are different. Indeed, founded following the collaboration of the twelve founding countries of the eSport in Europe, the European Federation of eSport was recently born. This last one has for vocation to become a real pillar in the field of the competitive video game.
The European Esports Federation, moderating partner of eSports
The European Esports Federation, a non-profit and totally independent organization, acts as a moderating partner for the eSports industry in Europe. Comprised of twelve members, each from one of the founding countries of eSports in the EU, the Federation is governed by the "Berlin Declaration". This describes the collective and agreed definition of what eSport is. The twelve member countries are the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Hungary, France, Russia, Slovenia, Serbia, Sweden, Turkey and Ukraine. The European Leisure Software Federation, ESL, StarLadder and many others were also present at the meeting held in Berlin in 2019.
The European Esports Federation, more than an umpteenth eSports association, shows a strong commitment. Through a European federation, eSport can evolve freely and in the respect of the standards set up by the European Union. The ultimate goal is to make Europe a "model" region in terms of structuring eSport on an international scale.
One of the first organizations to legitimize eSports in Europe was ESL. The German company, which has the largest eSports network in the world, has been able to transform small community events into tournaments broadcast to the four corners of the globe (notably the Intel Extreme Masters and the ESL One). After all, Europe has 70 million eSport viewers!
