Here are the most valuable esports companies, according to a 2018 Forbes analysis.
Here are the most valuable esports companies, according to a 2018 Forbes analysis.
According to esportsearnings.com, which tracks prize money through media reports, news releases, forums, and other sources.
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Unsurprisingly, the top 10 (and the top 50) is almost entirely made up of players who play Dota 2. Every year, Valve hosts The International, a massive Dota 2 tournament that stacks a humongous winner’s purse. In 2018, the prize money stood at $25 million, because Valve essentially “crowdfunds” the pool through the sale of in-game items to its user-base. It goes to show you how much esports athletes rely on the support of publishers and investors in order to turn a profit
Esports still suffers from a massive representation problem, with very few women hitting the echelon that male competitors do. You can chalk that up to a ton of issues (a cultural bias, a lack of mentorship, bad hiring practices, to name just a few). The top-earning women esports player, the trans Canadian StarCraft pro Sasha “Scarlett” Hostyn, made around $300,000 playing esports.
The most popular competitive esports games aren’t necessarily the most popular games to watch people play on platforms like Twitch.
When investors salivate over the growth potential in esports, they’re also looking at the social media numbers that companies like FaZe are posting.
