A new analysis by Deloitte estimates that the burgeoning esports industry will reach global revenues of $1.5 billion and a fanbase of 600 million people by 2020. That financial haul is comparable to France’s top soccer circuit, Ligue 1, and nearly a third of the size of the NBA.
Deloitte principal Pete Giorgio points toward the launch of the NBA’s esports league, the massive audiences drawn by the Overwatch League (including a sold-out Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the finals), and the financial investment of business luminaries like the former Hewlett Packard CEO as signs of continued acceleration.