Esports in numbers: quick-fire gaming stats

So, you’ve had a read of our guide to sim-racing esports and you’ve splashed out on some equipment after clocking our ‘how to get started’ cheat sheet. Strong work – you’re pretty much ready to conquer the world of online gaming. 

But how do you go about putting down the naysayers? What do you say to your parents/friends/co-workers when they tell you not to quit your job to become a full-time gamer? Well, we’ve prepared some quick-fire stats to back you up. You’re welcome.

The UK spent around £3.8billion on videogames in 2019. That’s almost as much as music (£1.4bn) and video (£2.6bn) combined.

The 2019 Fortnite World Cup solo champion walked away with around £2.4million in prize money. Meanwhile, the 2019 Wimbledon Men’s Singles Champion won £2.35million.

There were 885 major esports events in 2019, awarding $167.4million in prize money.

443 million people watched some form of esports in 2019.

There are more than 25,000 professional esport athletes.

Gran Turismo Sport has more than seven million players.

Alfa Romeo, Haas, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Williams and Renault all have official esports teams.

109,000 people attempted to qualify for the 2019 F1 Esports Pro Series

THE ESPORTS INDUSTRY COULD BE WORTH $1.1BILLION BY THE END OF 2020

Sources: Entertainment Retailers Association, Newzoo Global esports Market Report, Green Man Gaming