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Gamers spend more time in games, and it turns out that PC shooters have become more popular during the pandemic. But total esports revenue for 2020 will likely be lower than previously anticipated, according to a couple of reports from market researcher Newzoo.
Shooters see great momentum
Above: shooters are taking off in quarantine.
Image Credit: Newzoo
Newzoo said today that according to a March poll, shooting games have grown 40% on the PC since December. Other categories that have worked well on PC are games of chance (up to 36%), deck-building games (34%), arcade games (28%), platforms (25%), and battle royale (17% ).
Between December and March, each 18-year-old genre that Newzoo covers experienced growth in player engagement on the PC, except multiplayer online battlefield (MOBA) and fighting games.
The report is based on a survey of 1,204 players in the US. USA, Italy and Japan, from 10 to 30 years old. Given the influx of new players and viewers, many different game genres have seen growth in audience, player percentage, and average game time, Newzoo said.
The growth of deck building was driven almost exclusively by the success of Riot Games’ Legends of Runterra, and platform games were similarly fueled by the Ori series, we will focus primarily on other major genres.
Above: Players are playing more on blocking.
Image Credit: Newzoo
Newzoo said that on the PC, the shooter genre had a 46% player share in March, making it the second-largest genre (after MOBA).
Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege has the highest percentage of players at the moment, but other titles like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Call of Duty Modern Warfare also rank well. Another contributing factor for March was the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Warzone’s Battle Royale mode.
Powered by its free model and near-ubiquitous coverage of shooter-focused streamers, Call of Duty’s Warzone performed extremely well in terms of player engagement, player numbers, and audience. Activision said it saw 50 million downloads in one month.
Newzoo said the success of the free game mode may have been accelerated by self-isolation, due to several factors that consumers may find appealing during the lockout period, such as being a squad-based game that requires communication. It’s also a cross-platform title, with fast gameplay on a large open map. Overall, the average daily game time for shooters increased from 38 minutes in December to 60 minutes in March.
Racing is another genre that saw a significant increase in player participation. Kartrider, for example, had a boost. The game is accessible, cooperative, multiplayer, and easy to play with friends during isolation. The title of choice for many professionals is iRacing, and interest in the title has skyrocketed last month, increasing 117% for live hours viewed on Twitch and YouTube from February to April.
Esports forecast lowered
Above: Newzoo is revising its forecast for eSports.
Image Credit: Newzoo
Newzoo also said it updated its global and regional esports revenue estimates for 2020. The company now estimates that the global esports market will generate revenue of $ 1,059 billion in 2020, down from the previous estimate of $ 1,100 billion.
At the same time, Newzoo slightly adjusted its forecast for 2023, from $ 1,556 billion to $ 1,598 billion. The pandemic has affected live eSports events, which have been forced to close.
“Before continuing, we must emphasize that our review has nothing to do with the decrease in demand (the audience is not less) or the decrease in supply (the number of events that the organizers want to organize is not less)”, Newzoo said. Rather, due to the current COVID-19 outbreak, many events have been postponed, canceled, or moved to online formats. “
The review is based on a temporary cessation of eSports activity (or a transition to digital-only events). After 2020, the immediately affected revenue streams will remain unchanged from the previous forecast.
Newzoo expects less merchandise and ticket revenue, with revenue declining from the previous forecast from $ 121.7 million to $ 106.5 million. The research firm also reviewed media rights and sponsorship forecasts for this year, from $ 185.4 million to $ 176.2 million and $ 636.9 million to $ 614.9 million, respectively.
But Newzoo did a little upward revision to transmission revenue. The global quarantine has led to a larger audience, and Newzoo is now expecting new market participants. Therefore, the forecast for the team’s transmission revenue increased from $ 18.2 million to $ 19.9 million in 2020, and from $ 31.6 million to $ 34.4 million in 2023.
Newzoo also raised its forecast for global publisher fees to $ 120.2 million in 2020.
