Vancouver Esports Strategy - Vancouver Economic Commission
Vancouver Esports Strategy:1
Vancouver Esports Strategy:23Table of ContentsSurvey responses 308 communityrespondents 20 esports-relatedorganizationsInterviews androundtables 5 roundtables 69 organizations 85 individual leadersProject Funders andStakeholders Western EconomicDiversification Canada TELUS Vancouver HotelDestination Association Tourism VancouverVancouver EconomicCommission Team Shawn CalderaClaire CampbellIngrid ValouJames RaymondDavid ShepheardShivam KishoreVancouver Esports StrategyExecutive Summary4Published February 2021What is Esports?10Introduction10Method2020: A digital sporting paradigm11The global market12Esports subsectors by platform14Esports Ecosystem Components16Over the course of this study, Vancouver Economic Commission (VEC) assembleda database of BC-based esports leaders comprising more than 100 experts,companies and industry organizations to collect local insights and assess the BCecosystem.Ecosystem leaders17Governments18Events and venues19VEC’s qualitative data collection employed a number of methods, beginningwith facilitated roundtable discussions (September 2019 through February2020) that discussed esports events, branding and sponsorships, scholasticesports, technology and infrastructure. Qualitative insights drawn from theseroundtables helped shape the topics and questions covered in subsequentone-on-one interviews with business advisors. In addition to pinpointingunderstanding successes, pain points, opportunities and areas requiring supportin the BC ecosystem, VEC collected additional insights from individual interviewswith industry experts to identify and map esports communities and industrynodes across BC.Education and talent development20Esports associations21Upon completion of the interviews and community mapping, VEC deployedsurveys to these communities to gather quantitative demographic, habitual andpredictive data. As BC esports communities were instrumental in distributingthe survey, responses featured in this report’s BC’s role and context sectionare reflective of participants in BC’s esports communities and distinct fromthe general population of gamers (casual or otherwise); therefore, they may beincidental to trends in non-esports video gaming communities.VEC contextualized its BC ecosystem assessment with additional 2018 GamingCommunity Data and 2019 Gaming Industry Data published by the EntertainmentAssociation of Canada. To provide further context for a gap analysis and strategy,VEC commissioned TwogNation – an esports organization specializing in esportsnetworking – to deliver an international assessment of Vancouver’s esportsecosystem, along with a survey of global best practices from 11 notable esportsready cities across North America, Europe and Asia.VEC respectfully acknowledges that it is located on the traditional, ancestral andunceded territory of the Skwx̱ wú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (TsleilWaututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓ əm (Musqueam) Nations.International Best PracticesWhat we learned from 11 esports cities2223BC’s Esports Ecosystem Assessment26Canada’s role and context27BC’s esports ecosystem today29BC esports leaders44Gap Analysis46Investment and capital47Education and training50Professional associations54Immigration pathways55Strategy Recommendations56At the local level58At the international level64Conclusions70End Notes72Appendices73Appendix A – Acknowledgments: Study Partners & Contributors73Appendix B – Glossary of Terms73Appendix C – Investment Models75
Vancouver Esports Strategy: Executive Summary45Executive SummaryAs an industry, esports sits at the busy intersection of competitivesporting, games development and consumption, tourism and hospitality,and web-based content creation and broadcasting.The maturation of BC’s esports ecosystem willdiversify and strengthen the Western Canadianeconomy by attracting more internationalcompanies and players, generating revenuesfor the private and public sectors, and hostingmore international sporting events withsignificant direct and indirect spinoff benefits,including job creation for local workers.For the region to assume a global leadershiprole, however, there must be comprehensive,open-minded and strong cooperationbetween local tourism, telecommunications,venues and athletic talent; as well as supportand establishment of government policy,community-driven governance, infrastructuredevelopment, and corporate and public-sectorsponsorship.This report includes an overview of theglobal and local esports industry, including asummary analysis of leading hubs acting onesports initiatives and strategies.The report will: Help readers determine the potentialesports economic opportunity inVancouver and onsorship Establish understanding of the stepsrequired to amplify and enhanceesports across the region, and supportcoordination within stakeholdersRights feeRevenue sharing (prize, salary, fee)Betting CompaniesConsumers and Fans Facilitate BC industry leaders’ andpolicymakers’ decision-making process byproviding insights into other cities’ successstrategiesEsports Teams Help the local esports community developvaluable partnerships and initiatives withglobal esports players and companies Build on insights with a proposed set ofstrategy recommendations and tacticsaimed at transforming Vancouver and BCinto an international esports hubevents; government initiatives that facilitateesports’ development as an industry; and othermiscellaneous but critical elements that advancethe state of esports through sporting or industrydevelopment. Our ecosystem and gap analysis,along with strategy recommendations, are basedon the relationships between these foundationalcomponents and their presence in the ecosystem.Figure 1.1 – International esports ecosystem mapTournamentOrganizersGame DevelopersBroadcast StudiosPlayersThanks to the Vancouver region’s proven trackrecord in hosting international sporting events,talented community and committed fanbase,and attractiveness as a tourism destination,Vancouver and BC have all the foundationalqualities to capitalize on an industry set todouble its global revenue from 1.1 billion in2019 to 2.2 billion in 2022. These qualities arefurther augmented by the province’s recentdemonstration of economic resilience andpublic health management in the contextof the COVID-19 pandemic, combined withincreased global interest in esports facilitatedby lockdown conditions and physicaldistancing measures.Figure 1.1 illustrates the general relationshipsbetween notable player, tournament organizerand fan stakeholder groups or organizations.The reciprocal interplay between elementsin these key areas result in activities thatcharacterize a healthy esports hub, described infour groups or issues: the presence and leadershipof esports participants; the organization of esportsTournament PlatformsStreaming PlatformsVenuesSponsors,Brands andInvestors
Vancouver Esports Strategy: Executive Summary671.2 Issue tree for becoming an esports hubPresence of esportsecosystem participantsVancouver TitansAn independently conducted assessment ofVancouver’s esports industry by TwogNationindicates that Vancouver has significantroom to grow into its potential. ThoughVancouver has established quality componentsof a robust esports industry – includingevents hosting and organization prowess,a highly innovative and entrepreneurialstartup ecosystem, and robust video gamesdevelopment and tech sectors – they havegenerally operated independently from oneanother. These siloes present a significanthurdle for Vancouver’s development as anesports city, especially when compared to 11 ofthe top esports hubs around the world.Expert insights gathered through VECfacilitated industry roundtables and one-onone interviews agree that until better cohesionis achieved, Vancouver will lag behind leadingesports hubs in North America, WesternEurope and Asia, and will continue to remaincomparatively unknown on the global stage.Vancouver is home to offices of prominentinternational game publishers withmultibillion-dollar market caps, such as TakeTwo Interactive ( 19.05 billion), ElectronicArts ( 38.36 billion) and Nintendo ( 66.99billion). The city is also home to numerousmultifunctional world-class stadiums andvenues like Rogers Arena and the VancouverConvention Centre. When considered alongsidededicated esports arenas such as The GamingStadium and Net8 esports arena, Vancouver’sproven sport and international conferencehosting history are tremendous assets,complemented by favorable visa policies forinternational esports players travelling tocompete in tournaments. All of these factorsshould combine to elevate Vancouver’sreputation as an inviting and successfulesports city. However, despite Vancouver’sproven capacity to host major sporting events,there have been no high-profile, internationalesports events held in the region, save fortwo major tournaments organized in 2017 and2018 (NA League of Legends ChampionshipSeries and Dota 2: The International 2018tournament).Esports associations play a pivotal rolein locating, understanding and unitingvarious ecosystem players, and may alsobe set up to coordinate esports events.Although Vancouver’s esports communitybenefits from the anchoring influences ofstrong university and college-level gamingorganizations, several ranked league teams, itsrobust entertainment sector, and communitygrassroots organizations across BC, thereare currently no major esports associationsor chapters functioning in Vancouver. Assuch, the creation and operation of a wellfunctioning association could be highlyeffective in unlocking Vancouver’s potential,and moving the dial from a modest, steady riseto accelerated growth.Levers that make a city an esports hubEcosystem insights and gap analysisLevers thatmake a cityan esportshubOrganization ofesports eventsGovernment initiativesto facilitate esportsdevelopmentOther elementsof esports successFigure 1.2 illustrates some of the tactics,policy-levers and measures that Vancouverwill need to catalyze, acquire or implement inorder to compete with leading esports hubs.BC’s largest regional esports hub is theSouthwest Mainland, which includes theMetro Vancouver and Fraser Valley regionaldistricts. Other hubs include Vancouver Island,whose primary esports activity centres in thesouth, around Victoria; the Southern Interiorcluster, centred in Kelowna; and Northern BC,where most esports activity revolves aroundPrince George and its university district. Each1.1Acquisition of game publishers1.2Acquisition of esports teams1.3Acquisition of streaming platforms1.4Acquisition of tournament organizers1.5Acquisition of tournament platforms1.6Acquisition of broadcast studios2.1Organization of tournaments2.2Establishment of city leagues2.3Availability of venues and training centres3.1Government subsidies3.2Registration system for esports athletes and formalization of esports3.3Residency rights for esports athletes4.1Presence of esports associations4.2Existence of esports education programs4.3Private investments4.4Existence of grassroot communities and other local/regional aspectsindustry and community node is anchored bythe largest urban centres in region (Vancouver,Victoria, Kelowna and Prince George), and isclustered around reliable broadband accessand high speeds. Vancouver is the largest andmost active of these four regional esportsnodes; for this reason, the recommendationsoutlined in this report focus on Vancouver.However, each node has its own industryconnections, business operations, andgrassroots community events, and this report’sstrategy recommendations may be read,considered and applied towards them as well.
Vancouver Esports Strategy: Executive Summary89RecommendationsCOVID-19 lockdown measures have had animmense effect on esports and the videogames industry, with all game segments seeingan increase in engagement and revenuesas a result of amplified consumer interestduring self-isolation. Consumer spending onmobile gaming has particularly soared, owingto its low barriers to entry and accessibility.However, lockdown measures have alsoimpacted many grassroots community groups,some of which sprang up because certainhardware limitations require tournamentsof console-exclusive games titles to be heldin person. The struggles of some communitygroups, forced to move entirely online orswitch to remote-only events, have alsoexposed the limitations of BC’s endemicbroadband and internet infrastructure inremote communities.The gap analysis spends some time discussingoptions for education-related esports tacticsat both the secondary and post-secondarylevel, and touches on hoped-for advancementsin infrastructure, staffing and policyrequirements. Generally, the esports industryadvocates for the introduction of new curriculaas a lever to improve its standing and thequality of work-ready talent for the sector andsupport industries. However, to thoughtfullyimplement and integrate these proposedcurriculum changes requires significantadditional research and engagement withvarious public funding and regulatory bodies,including Ministries of Education, regionalschool districts and municipal school boards.There are two main stages to this report’s recommendations: the local stage andthe international stage. The local stage’s set of actions focuses on introducingand developing the key factors necessary to unlock cohesion, growth andcollective planning in the Vancouver and BC ecosystem; these actions are alsoscalable to the rest of Western Canada. The international stage builds on thelocal stage to enhance the city and province’s international reputation andestablish Vancouver and BC as a global esports hub.While it’s not necessary to complete the first stage prior to beginning workon the second, establishing a rock-solid local ecosystem and community willonly improve Vancouver and BC’s position, and prepare the region for successinternationally.These recommendations are directed broadly towards ecosystem leaders,specifically policymakers, bureaucrats, esports company founders, communityorganizers, investors, and prospective events and infrastructure sponsors.The Gaming StadiumStage 1: LocalÐ Improve cohesion of local esportsecosystemÐ Establish an esports associationÐ Introduce policies to formalizeesports as a form of traditionalsportsÐ Introduce policies to improveesports infrastructure and clusterdevelopmentÐ Encourage local esports events andesports in educationÐ Build investor confidence in esportscompaniesStage 2: InternationalÐ Attract international esportsleaders, such as games publishers,event organizers, sports teams, andtraining institutions and academies,to open new offices in VancouverÐ Host international esports eventsÐ Engage and guide cross-borderinvestorsÐ Refine pathways and processes foresports-related immigration andworkÐ Develop and distributeinternational-facing marketingmaterials
Vancouver Esports Strategy: Introduction10112020: A digitalsporting paradigmEsports is organized, competitive video gaming.As a form of sporting competition, its scale ranges from neighbourhood pick-upgames and tournaments to professional leagues culminating in high-productionvalue finals played in stadiums packed with tens of thousands of fans, and watchedonline by millions more.Traced back to the early days of arcade machines in the 1970s, esports is a directproduct of the 152 billion global video game market. Despite its overlap withtoday’s games industry, esports’ competitive sporting characteristics distinguish itas a standalone industry with unique needs. While NewZoo, a leading provider ofgames and esports industry market intelligence, valued the global esports industryat US 1.1 billion in 2019, prior to the pandemic, the sector’s value was projected tonearly double to US 2.17 billion as soon as 2023.1 2 While the pandemic has caused adrop in revenues attributed to a drop in live audience ticket sales, NewZoo assertsboth supply (audience) and demand (organizers) have remained steady.3This is good news, because the past decade has seen esports break into mainstreaminterest and coverage: traditional sports broadcasting channels are now runningesports programming, and sports teams and associations like the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Soccer (MLS) have begun to conduct theirown esports events. According to NewZoo, the total esports audience will grow by 11.7percent over 2019 levels, surpassing 490 million viewers by the end of 2020.4 Nearlyhalf of those viewers are esports enthusiasts, while the rest are casual spectators.At a time when many of the world’s industries slowed and shiftedtowards remote working protocols, the esports industry barelyregistered the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even prior tothe spike in interest attributable to quarantine behaviour, the esportsindustry was already set to benefit from shifting media consumptionpatterns, including increased content streaming habits and marketpenetration of esports-capable gaming devices. Communities wereanchored, publishers secured their fan bases, and the world reached atipping point of digital maturity – in broadband infrastructure, servicesand knowledge – particularly in urban centres.In 2020, esports experienced an exponential increase in interest fromboth gaming and non-gaming communities – a direct result of theCOVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdown and physical distancingmeasures. Traditional and staple sporting events pivoted theirapproaches to delivering content, and companies like the sportsequipment and footwear manufacturer ASICS, used VR/AR (virtual andaugmented reality) to launch products on public livestreams.5Additionally, many regular spectators turned to esports versions of theirpreferred sport. Broadcasts on ESPN, TSN and other sports networkshave featured esporting counterparts of NBA, National Hockey League(NHL) and – most notably – the National Association for Stock Car AutoRacing (NASCAR), whose iRacing event racked up 1.3 million viewers onlivestreams.6Content creators for sites like Twitch, YouTube and Mixer likewisesaw unprecedented growth during the pandemic. Twitch, a popularbroadcasting site for digital content creators, had a pre-pandemicaudience of 1.2 million viewers per month; since the lockdown, thecompany has seen an overall audience increase of 24 percent.720.8MThe esports industry is at an inflection point.1.26M1.07MNot all games become esports. While any multiplayer game with competitiveelements and a strong fanbase has the potential to become an esport, those thatsucceed share three fundamental values: competition, compelling content, andconnected community.Figure 2.1 – Average concurrent viewers on TwitchSource: TwitchTracker.com201820192020
Vancouver Esports Strategy: Introduction12The globalmarketUS 1.1 billionglobal revenuein 2019Trend spotlight: Console and PC gaming revenuesPC and console hardware technologies have made significant strideswith the advent of microprocessors, with consoles generally leadingin form factor innovation, including portable gaming, while PCgaming leads in areas pertaining to raw computational power andbleeding-edge technology for professional gamers.12Esports has maintained rapid growth at an average rate of 27 percentfrom 2017 to 2020, reaching US 1.1 billion in 2019.8 Global revenuesare forecast to continue growing at a CAGR of 16 percent from 2020to 2022, with North America, Asia and Western Europe accountingfor approximately 90 percent of overall revenues. According toTwogNation, approximately half of esports fans are based out ofAsia.9Esports audiences are growing in tandem with revenues, a trend thatis forecasted to continue at a combined annual rate of 12 percentfrom 2020 to 2022.10 Notably, half of the global esports audience isbased in Asia: China alone accounts for approximately 30 percent ofglobal audiences, triple the size of North Americ
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to test possible relationships that are in line with the literature. To this purpose, the Spear-man rho test was used between the following variables: Technology Adoption and Popular-ity of Esports, Esports vs. Sports, and Esports in Educational Sector and Perceptions of Esports. 4.4.1. Technology Adoption and Popularity of Esports
NEWZOO ESPORTS @ IEM KATOWICE. As part of our effort to track, research, model and understand the esports space, Newzoo Esports analysts visit the biggest esports events across the globe. In early March 2016, Newzoo took part in the biggest in terms of attendance: IEM Katowice, organized by ESL. Brands will spend. 325M. on direct esports .
2022 Newzoo 8 Global Esports & Live Streaming Market Report 2022 Table of Contents Key Takeaways The global esports audience will reach 532 million by the end of 2022. The number of esports enthusiasts is set to reach 261.2 million, while occasional viewers will make up 270.9 million. The esports audience will reach 640.8
2015 2016 2017 2020 Source: New Zoo Global Esports Market Report 2017 ESPORT MARKET. WHAT IS ESPORTS? Source: New Zoo Global Esports Market Report 2018 The total prize money of all esports events held in 2017 reached 112 million, breaking the 100 million mark for the first year. 112 million
leagues/events, with many franchises having eSports teams across multiple titles PUBLISHERS eSports leagues, events and championships, feature top teams competing, of which are operated by publishers directly or third-party event operators Media companies stream eSports content, report on the world of eSports or pay to broadcast events
SOURCE: NEWZOO 2020 GLOBAL ESPORTS MARKET REPORT APRIL 2020 UPDATE Esports Audience Growth Occasional Viewers Global — For 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023 Due to rounding, Esports Enthusiasts and Occasional Viewers do not add up to the total audience in 2020. Esports Enthusiasts 2018 222M 173M 395M 2019 443M 12.3% YoY TOTAL AUDIENCE 2020 495M 11.7% .
The Physical Distinction of Sports and Esports The practice of esports is an in-depth field, and to discuss it in earnest requires a preface to the genre as a whole. This is mostly easily done by means of comparison between classical sports and esports. To open the conversation of traditional sports versus esports, the most
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