over the past few years, billions have been invested
in an industry that promised to rival pro sports leagues
. But now the esports organizations who sought to pave
this future face a tough reckoning is the dream of
esports already dying. Giants of the space Team Solo
Mid 100 thieves have terminated dozens of positions between them
, others who own teams and supposedly lucrative leagues have
sold to third parties. The consultancy firm Deloitte expects
only about a third of european esports teams to turn
a profit this year, Money seems to be much
harder to come by. The problem is that the
sports teams are dependent on advertising. They had hoped
to fill stadiums with screaming fans and secure lucrative broadcast
deals, but those have largely failed to about 60%
of their revenue still comes from advertising and sponsorships.
And when the global economy slows, ad budgets are
usually the first to be cut. What's more many
of the advertisers were crypto companies who have been having
their own tough time. The bankrupt Crypto exchange had
pledged$210 million for Team Solo Mid to change its
name to the deal is now on hold. Finally
, venture capitalist interest is cooled back. In 2018
, they invested about three times more in sports than
this year and are less willing to cover losses.
Much of the hype previously dedicated to esports is moving
over to gaming influencers who live stream themselves on twitch
and Youtube, the cash crunch has left a slew
of teams fighting to ensure it's not game over