The first half of 2020 has witnessed an amazing growth of the global gaming industry, with millions of people choosing video games as their favorite form of entertainment amid coronavirus lockdown. Besides spending more time playing video games, eSports fans also significantly increased time spent watching their favorite game titles.
According to data presented by SafeBettingSites.com, users of the world’s leading social network, Facebook, spent more than 822 million hours watching eSports in the second quarter of 2020, a 316% jump year-on-year.
More than 1.3 Billion Hours Watched in the First Half of 2020
In the first quarter of 2019, Facebook Gaming hit 164.6 million hours watched on the platform, revealed Streamlabs and Statista data. In the next three months, this figure rose to 197.7 million. The increasing trend continued in the third quarter of 2019, with the number of watched hours jumping to over 269 million.
Statistics indicate that between October and December 2019, Facebook users spent a total of 460.1 million hours watching eSports content, a 70% jump in three months.
However, the COVID-19 lockdown led to new records, with a cumulative 553.7 million hours of eSports watched on Facebook`s gaming video hub in the first quarter of 2020, a 236% jump year-on-year. By the end of the second quarter of the year, this figure increased by 268.7 million.
Statistics show that Facebook Gaming reached more than 1.3 billion hours watched on the platform in the first half of 2020.
India Has the Highest Share of Esports Fans
The entire eSports market has boomed in recent years, with more and more viewers tuning in to watch their favorite games played by some of the best gamers in the world. The total number of eSports viewers is expected to hit 495 million in 2020, a 100 million increase since 2018, revealed the Newzoo 2020 Global Esports Market Report. The increasing trend is set to continue in the following years, with the number rising to 646 million by 2023.
The Capgemini 2019 survey also revealed that India represents the leading eSports market, with 73% of respondents who stated they watched eSports. Singapore ranked second, with 46% of respondents claiming to be eSports fans. Hong Kong, the United States, and France follow, with 41%, 31%, and 30% share, respectively.