(Infographic from https://espl.gg)
Puncak Geliga Capital is proud to be a part of the successful pre-Series A funding for Esports Players League (ESPL). Together with RightBridge Ventures AB, Genting Ventures, Warner Music Asia, iCandy Interactive Limited, Sedania Innovator Berhad, and angel investors Michael Broda and Kin Wai Lau, #FNInitiative is now a part of a seven-digit pre-Series A funding for the e-sports platform.
Launched in late-2019, ESPL offers an integrated tournament model of both hybrid online and on-ground tournaments for the grassroots gamer community. With this model, it intends to create a bedroom-to-champion pathway for aspiring e-sports enthusiasts to be able to participate and be given a chance to be a world champion.
ESPL, with its headquarters in Singapore and regional offices in Cologne and Los Angeles, has organized more than 312 tournaments across 16 countries in Asia, Europe, and America, viewed by close to 11.6 million e-sports enthusiasts.
I know you’re thinking, “video games?”. The answer is yes. The gaming industry has contributed RM406.5 million in revenue to Malaysia in 2018, while globally the industry is expected to garner compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.9% from 2018 to 2023, which will result in a market volume of 168 million video games by 2023.
Newzoo’s latest 2020 Global Games Market Report has highlighted that the number of gamers worldwide is still on the rise and will exceed three billion by 2023, and that the markets in the Asia-Pacific region will generate US$78.4 billion in 2020.
The e-sports industry is approaching a billion-dollar industry itself with a forecasted revenue of US950.3 million in 2020. By 2023, the e-sports global revenue is expected to grow to US$1.6 billion. It is interesting but somewhat unsurprisingly to note that the Asia-Pacific region accounts for more than half of global e-sports enthusiasts. The industry is also one of the few that continues to thrive despite the widespread pandemic of COVID-19.
Several developments over the last few years have opened up new paths for the e-sports industry. The South-East Asia Games in 2019 included competitive video gaming as a medal sport, while The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has also announced that esports will be an official medal sport at the 2022 Asian Games. It doesn’t stop there. The International Olympic Committee is also considering it for the 2024 Summer Olympics!
The number of jobs created in the industry has reached thousands, and it has increased by 185.74% in the first half of last year compared to the previous year. We now have more esports players, coaches, event managers, referees, game designers, media and writers, marketing experts and so forth.
#FNInitiative aims to be at the forefront of this thriving and exciting future. Game on!