When players think of esports, blockbusters like League of Legends and Fortnite usually come to mind. After mobile games reportedly made over $15 billion last year, though, they might want to think again.
A report by Niko Partners breaks down the evolution of mobile esports within the global sphere. The report says that the industry made $15.32 billion in 2018, with over $5 billion of that coming from China.
Over 25 percent of the total mobile game revenue in 2018 came from mobile esports games like Arena of Valor and Clash Royale.
“This report predicts that mobile esports will become the fastest sector of growth in the esports industry,” according to the report. “A mobile esports boom is poised to propel mobile esports from a niche industry to the mass market.”
With more gamers on mobile devices than PC and consoles combined, this prediction may come true. In China alone, mobile players trump PC users at a rate of almost two to one, according to Niko Partners.
Riot Games’ popular MOBA tops the charts, earning $1.9 billion in 2018. When comparing that to China’s Area of Valor, it seems like League falls short.
With mobile esports growing at such a rapid pace, it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see a Clash tournament sell more seats than some other mainstream esports events.
