10 things we learned from esports in 2022

The biggest story in esports this year is simply having LAN events back on the agenda. League of Legends led the way with their trademark shows during LCS and LEC bringing the house down, before the Worlds presented the biggest esports showcase this side of the pandemic.

The worlds best LoL orgs travelled to Mexico City, New York, Atalanta and finally San Francisco to be crowned 2022 Worlds champions – with that honour to going to shock winners DRX who came all the way through play-ins.

Worlds saw peak viewership of over 5 million viewers, making it the most-watched LoL event ever, beating last year’s championships by over 1 million viewers.

Featuring teams from 12 countries, Worlds was a truly global event, and typifies the phenomenon that is LoL esports.

Traditionally, gaming and esports events would just be broadcasted by the broadcaster or game developer themselves. The rise of streamers and creators has presented an opportunity for them to co-stream events and increase viewership.

Not only does this enable bring in fans who may not have traditionally watched that particular esport, but it also gives a different broadcast experience – something vital in online media. If you want a more casual, jokey approach, you’d perhaps go for a personality who is less involved in the space, if you want hard-core analysis then you may watch an ex-pro co-streaming.

Co-streaming arrived for Overwatch League this year, following the likes of Valorant and League of Legends to successfully utilise it. It does present an issue for sponsored brands if fans are watching elsewhere, but a work-around would be for the brands to target the creators themselves.

In November, The European Parliament passed a resolution recognising the value of the esports and video game industries, recognising the value it offers economically and culturally. The Parliament also recommended a long-term strategy to support and fund the sectors.

Moving forward, EU legislators will now decide how to implement the resolution, which will from the EU’s strategy on esports.

It’s a huge breakthrough for the industry, legitimatising its work and opening up financial benefits through potential funding and support.

Although the metaverse and esports go far from hand-in-hand, there has been some examples in where the paths have crossed. Most successfully, the Rocket League World Championship was streamed live inside Fortnite, an incredibly smart play from Epic Games.

The rise of metaverse, and the fact that video games can create virtual worlds have seen some impressive collaborations into popular culture, too. K-pop band Blackpink performed in PUBG, BTS had a Minecraft concert, whilst Charli XCX forayed in Roblox.

Expect to see more and more of these collaborations as time goes on, presenting opportunities for brands to enter the space.

Sustainable revenue needs to be prioritised - esports teams still derive more than 80% revenue from sponsorship. This is not likely to change soon and is a real risk for teams survival as a business and growth prospects, plus the risk of brands leaving the space if teams do not deliver on rights sold.

However, teams are doing a better job in 2022 of diversifying. Fnatic launched their own music label, with its first album. The brand has also had regular collaborations on merch drops, put online content behind pay walls, showcased web3 initiatives.