As popular esports has become in the past several years, it’s no wonder that fans of the sport want their best to be showcased at the stage of the immortals.
Circumstantial Boundaries
Since the conception of the Olympic games back in the late 1800s, it’s only been cancelled about 4 times that too owing to major worldwide issues. Well, in 2020 as we all know, Covid rocked humanity to its core and has been regarded as the worst pandemic since the 1920’s Spanish Flu outbreak. Due to the dire situation, the IOC saw fit to postpone the 2020 Olympics to 2021, keeping in mind the safety of participants.
While the sports industry as a whole was on the down low, esports on the other hand was seeing an astronomical shift in viewership, owing to it all to these once-in-a-lifetime circumstances.
The Pandemic Esports Boom
During the pandemic, viewership on streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube multiplied to never before seen levels. Back in 2020, in April, the viewership on Twitch shot up by 30% when compared to the previous months of 2020. By the time May came around, the permanent viewership had gone past a 50% increase. That meant that not only that more people were playing more games, but it also meant that there were more eyes on those playing them.
That as a whole was a positive sign for the gaming community in general, but more importantly for Esports.
Does Esports Need The Olympics, Or Is It The Other Way Around?
This has been another hotly contested debate where people in support of both perspectives believe they are right. One side states that the Olympics needs the viewership which Esports brings whereas, some believe that Esports will do just fine even without such a prestigious and global platform.
But whatever the case might be, both sides can use the help in such challenging times. After all, gaming streaming services did clock in about 1.6 billion hours monthly since the April of 2020. As well as the statistics which say that the average age of a typical Esports viewer is 25. That is very important when it comes to marketing and selling the event to a younger and much-invested audience.
The main reason for pitching the event to a younger audience is that the Olympics aren’t doing so well viewership wise as the product now lacks interest. Hence, it would be an excellent decision on part of the IOC to incorporate Esports into the next Olympic event in 2024.
Although if you’re a gamer or an avid Twitch viewer, be hopeful as better things are on the horizon. And if you’re in the market looking for PC gaming chairs, keyboards, desks to up your game and aspire to participate with the best when the time comes, then check this out!