Christina Gough
Research expert covering sports and video gaming
eSports in the UK - statistics & facts
The eSports market has boomed in recent years, with the world of competitive gaming transitioning from a niche hobby to a fully-fledged professional sport. The global eSports market is expected to reach 1.87 billion U.S. dollars in revenue by 2025, with the eSports sponsorship segment alone projected to generate over 837 million U.S. dollars in revenue in 2022. The potential for this market can also be seen in its audience size as the global eSports audience is expected to reach 640.8 million viewers worldwide by 2025.
The growing UK eSports market
The eSports industry in the United Kingdom is expected to follow a similar upward trajectory, with the UK eSports industry set to more than double in size between 2020 and 2027. Some of the largest segments within this industry include media rights, merchandise and ticketing, and sponsorship and advertising. Meanwhile, the streaming market within UK eSports is expected to generate 3.68 million U.S. dollars in revenue by 2027. eSports are also projected to reach over 17 million users in the UK by 2027, with an estimated average revenue per user of 4.18 U.S. dollars.The wider video game market in the UK
The video game market in the United Kingdom was worth an estimated 5.89 billion British pounds in 2021, up from 5.42 billion British pounds the previous year. The market is projected to continue growing and reach an estimated 7.1 billion British pounds by 2025. FIFA 23 was the best-selling video game in the UK in 2022, followed by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, and Elden Ring. Gaming is popular among young people in the UK, with 88 percent of 16- to 24-year-olds playing video games. Online gaming is also on the rise, with 75 percent of male and 61 percent of female gamers playing games online in the most recent measurement period.Record-breaking eSports earnings
eSports has become increasingly popular in the United Kingdom, with some of the most followed franchises including Call of Duty, League of Legends, and Apex Legends. The highest-earning eSports player in the UK in 2022 was Harry Pearson, or Veno, who earned over 344 thousand U.S. dollars through his gaming exploits. Henrik Mclean, or Hen, ranked second with 245 thousand U.S. dollars in earnings in that year. eSports gamers from the UK earned over 5.5 million U.S. dollars combined in prize money winnings in 2022, a significant increase from the combined earnings of 186 thousand U.S. dollars in 2012.Mixed opinions on eSports in the UK
Despite the growing popularity of eSports, a majority of UK survey respondents stated that they were not fans of the competitive video gaming industry. The survey found that 61 percent of respondents were not interested in eSports, while 20 percent had never even heard of the term. This was an opinion shared across age and gender demographics - a majority of both male and female respondents and respondents from each age category indicated that they were not fans of eSports.Twitch gains popularity in the UK as a live streaming platform
Twitch is a popular video streaming platform that has gained traction in the UK. According to a 2022 survey, 63 percent of UK social media users were aware of Twitch. The platform's mobile app had approximately 1.2 million monthly active users in June 2021 via iOS devices alone. The majority of Twitch users in the UK were men, making up around 74 percent of the user base, while women accounted for approximately 26 percent. In terms of age distribution, 40 percent of users were aged between 25 and 34 years, while 30 percent were between 18 and 24.
