Online gaming has remained a major part of the lives of many younger audiences, who have played numerous titles from a variety of genres as a means to test their skills and showcase their talent to compete against the best in the gaming scene today.
This overly competitive drive has allowed the best players to become standout names within various renowned genres and their most decorated titles. This has since allowed these professional players to compete against other elite virtual stars in eSports tournaments around the world.
ESports has remained an integral part of the gaming scene as it has grown a massive fanbase from players from different backgrounds and interests who love to watch some of the best players in the world. These titles vary from different genres, such as first-person shooters, virtual sports games, or even casino outings, such as the endless listings of popular titles available at Golden Nugget Online Casino.
No matter where the interests of gaming fans reside, there is no denying that eSports is on the upward trend for ranking as one of the virtual gaming industry's most popular trends, which has since caught the attention of a number of renowned brands who continue to offer outrageous sponsorship deals with various high-profile events and individuals of the eSports scene.
Some of these endorsement deals have reached unprecedented levels of value, and these figures continue to soar upwards as the eSports market continues to increase in popularity.
How have eSports sponsorships evolved into such blockbuster deals?
One of the first registered eSports events came way back in 1990 when the Japanese game developer giants Nintendo saw a potential gap in the virtual market by pitting together some of the best players in the world at the time and starting an entirely new tournament to decided who could reign supreme as the best amongst their ever-growing passionate fanbase.
Following on from the initial success of the earlier renditions of eSports tournaments and with the continued expansion of the virtual tech sector as more gaming consoles were soon released for sale, other developers began chartering new courses by releasing their titles that would become mainstays in the developing eSports movement which quickly caught the attention of numerous other companies from a variety of backgrounds.
With electronic partners such as Intel and Nvidia becoming part of the eSports scene by sponsoring devices used at events, it soon became apparent that this trend was becoming increasingly popular amongst fans and that it was worth taking a punt to achieve mainstream media attention.
In the mid-2000s, beverage companies would soon make the jump to eSports sponsorships, with the likes of Red Bull, Monster Energy, G Fuel, and Coca-Cola all joining the trend by becoming official partners for event coverage, with Red Bull even forming a specified sponsorship deal with individual players such as legendary Halo player David Walsh.
The rise of Major League Gaming (MLG) in the 2010s also caught the eye of snack and sweet brands such as Doritos and Snickers, as well as betting partners who joined in 2014.
Nowadays, these significant deals have also spanned out to insurance companies, fast food franchises, and even professional sports clubs such as Paris Saint Germain in the French football league which acquired their own League of Legends team.
What factors have led to these significant sponsorship deals?
With online gaming's popularity growing exponentially over the years since the initial inception of eSports events, the industry as a whole has only continued to gain more notoriety through mainstream media coverage and the release of various other titles that have become major hits in the gaming industry.
The rise of online streaming from professional players has also greatly contributed, as many players are often streaming live on sites such as Twitch to a mass audience who are always curious to learn more tips about how to improve and want to watch the best players live in action.
With streaming platforms like Twitch and Kick only continuing to rise and appeal to a wider audience who regularly enjoy watching eSports and other professional players compete against one another, there are only expected to be many more lucrative sponsorship opportunities available for any major tournament or individual centered around eSports.
Esports could also gain rights for broadcasts on mainstream TV or other virtual platforms, which would only further increase the recognition of such a popular asset and, in turn, allow for further opportunities with other major endorsement deals to become available in the near future.