If you’ve been following gaming news, you know that eSports has become a very big deal. Games like DOTA 2, League of Legends and Counter Strike have begun to pull in massive audiences and cash prizes in the past couple of years. Despite that, knowledge of the existence of eSports hasn’t been that vast. Now a new report from Newzoo suggests 1 Billion people around the world will know what eSports are by the end of this year.
The report says 53.7% of people knew what eSports was in 2015. They say that number has jumped to 65.7% so far this year. The report, which has been reported on by a variety of outlets, including VentureBeat and SB Nation.
Venture Beat has said the report reads, “Explosive growth in coverage from global and local media, an intensified effort from game publishers, as well as the launch of an abundance of new leagues and events have accelerated the global exposure of eSports beyond initial expectations.”
The massive growth of eSports has reached into the mainstream thanks to the fact that ESPN has a portion of their website dedicated to eSports. Both Electronic Arts and Activision have launched eSports divisions in the last year. And some colleges and competitions are holding competitions at the collegiate level, with entrants playing for scholarships.
