The Effect of Lockdown - Esports and Gaming Rising, Sports Falling

In a previous article, we discussed how lockdown affected the gaming industry in that more gamers were logging on although game production slumped considerably. Now, new information has emerged with regards to how esports has been affected - interestingly enough, with the fall of traditional sports, more fans have been making the transition from the latter. 

By 'fall', I'm referring to the fact that traditional sports have suffered immensely due to lockdown. Of course, traditional sports isn't dying, but the COVID-19 lockdown has brought to light its limitations. 

Back on topic, esports has surged thanks to lockdown, and it's pretty obvious why. Supporting this statement, a study by Comscore's 2020 State of Gaming found that 25% of gamers had tuned into esports since the lockdown started. 

And, to add, many of these gamers were committed traditional sports viewers too. The original article is viewable for preview here. Let's take a quick look at some other points: 

• As of May 2020, there were a shocking 210 million total unique visitors to the gaming category (watching gaming) 
• +133% growth in time spent on gaming sites (since 2017) 
• 80% reach of total digital population (gaming content) 
• +194% growth in time spent watching gaming videos on desktop (since 2017) 
• 38 million U.S households had a gaming console of sort, with an increase of 9 million from last year 
• Mobile-only gamers = 15% of all gamers
• Gamers who regularly play on PC, console and mobile = 36% 
• Gamers who play on every platform = 33%

The top things off, the study offers a graph in its preview showing graphically how the swap to lockdown affected gaming and esports compared to traditional sports: 

So while traditional sports froze, esports has kept growing and growing. The pandemic has been an opportunity for everyone to step back and appreciate how incredibly capable esports can adapt to these types of situations. 

Hopefully, you've enjoyed the fun facts we've listed above. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!