Game on

With over three billion active global players and revenues of over US $190bn in 2022, the eGaming market presents one of the most lucrative opportunities for growth and investment.

An important part of this market is Esports, which includes competitive gaming and live streaming.

South Korea is the global leader in Esports and, in 2000, was one of the first countries to recognise Esports as a legitimate sport. The country's Esports association helps subsidise amateur organisations and helps operate more than 20,000 gaming centres across the country. Teams are sponsored by both large international brands, local businesses, and some educational and healthcare institutions. In 2021, over 71% of the South Korean population were gamers and of this split, 41% were aged over 35.

Saudi Arabia is one of the major emerging players in the gaming market. Over 67% of the population regularly engage in gaming and the country has recently - as part of its vision 2030 objectives - announced targeted investments of SAR 142 billion (US$ 37.8 billion) in its Savvy Games Group strategy. This strategy will involve the group investing in and partnering with gaming publishers around the world with the aim of making the Kingdom a dominant global hub for games and E-sports. The country also recently hosted a 60-day gaming festival called gamers8 which involved concerts and tournaments with an overall prize pool of US$ 15 million.

Other considerable markets include the USA and Canada who house over 450 million Esports enthusiasts, China which houses 434 million Esports fans, and India with 430 million active gamers.

Space opportunities
So, what are the implications for property owners and developers?

The popularity of Esports has led to the formation of several purpose-built arenas that host professional Esports events and allow budding players and streamers to purchase access to specialist gaming equipment.

The Hyper X arena in Las Vegas is a 30,000 sq. ft site with VIP gaming and streaming rooms. Individuals can purchase gaming or streaming passes from US$ 15 per hour. The arena also runs an academy to help amateur players learn and better their gaming skills. Purpose-built arenas come in a variety of sizes, some large including the 100,000 sq. ft E-sports Stadium in Texas, and the 60,000 sq. ft Chongqing Zhongxian E-sports stadium in China, and others include the 21,000 sq. ft Sarena Safeis arena in Riyadh, and the 26,000 sq. ft LOL Park in Seoul.

Shopping malls have long been incorporating gaming studios in their assets with recent notable additions at Mall of Georgia in the USA, Kallang Wave mall in Singapore, and Belong arenas in the UK and US. eGaming centres act as a community space where people can meet and socialise. Most centres also host regular tournaments that drive competitors from around the area to compete.

The benefit for asset owners is the increase in footfall to the development. Additionally, if the area has high speed internet access, eGaming centres do not require a lot of prime retail space and can operate in basement and corner spaces; areas mall operators traditionally find hard to let out.

The advent of eGaming has opened up several possibilities for developers and those who capitalise on the growing market will reap good rewards in the future.

Soham Nayak