Esports Trends 2024 — Saudi Arabia Future Prospects, Mobile Gaming Expansion and more

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2024 promises to be a year of innovation and restructurization in esports. Which titles will be the most promising? Where will top clubs seek new sources of revenue? What role will popular streamers and community casters play in the industry? Esports Charts discusses these issues and much more in an article on the main trends in the industry in 2024.

Future Prospects of Arabia in Esports

Saudi Arabia has been steadily strengthening its position in the global esports scene in recent years. The first big move was Savvy Games Group acquiring ESL FACEIT Group, organizers of major esports tournaments, and this was the first step in in establishing global influence over the industry. In 2023, Riyadh hosted the the largest-ever esports festival Gamers8, featuring a stunning prize pool of $45 million. Following the success of Gamers8, organizers announced its rebranding into Esports World Cup. In essence, more and more funds are being invested in organizing esports events.

The country is systematically forging collaborations with foreign organizations, notably with major video game publishers, whose involvement is crucial for establishing a foothold in the industry. Top teams from various disciplines more and more frequently visit Saudi Arabian events. Last year, the country solidified its position among esports federations and declared that it would host IESF World Championship. Notably, Saudi Arabia secured a significant victory by reaching an agreement with Riot Games to host its own League of Legends event, featuring teams from franchise leagues. It's worth recalling that the country previously struggled to establish itself in this discipline: in 2020, Riot Games abandoned one of the partnerships due to community criticism.

Esports Arena in Saudi Arabia / Photo: Gamers8

Saudi Arabia has invested considerable effort to cultivate a positive image within the gaming community, although some esports figures remain skeptical. For instance, British journalist Richard Lewis is convinced that esports "will become a tool in the hands of Saudis" and could be used as an instrument for propagating a specific agenda.

It is also important to note that Saudis are putting a lot of effort into developing their own esports scene. For example, they invite specialists and foreign players to join their teams: a notable example is the current roster of Team Falcons in Counter-Strike 2. This trend is probably to continue, with top gamers from the US and Europe considering Saudi teams as an intriguing option for advancing their careers, primarily due to financial incentives. This obviously resembles the situation in football, where stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kanté, and others are also joining Saudi Arabian clubs.

Perhaps one of the major trends will be a shift in focus, we expect Saudi funds increasingly invest in the domestic market. Large arenas for tournaments are already under construction, local leagues and teams are developing, and Western players and coaches are being attracted. Plans for the future include the construction of an entire city for gamers, where esports clubs and gaming studios can live and work. Undoubtedly, Saudi Arabia is a crucial player for the entire industry, and it will become even more influential in 2024.

China is Becoming More Open to International Esports

China has always been a crucial region for the esports industry, yet it remains closed off from the outside world in many aspects. Regional titles like Honor of Kings or CrossFire boast multimillion-dollar turnovers, but they were primarily targeted at the domestic consumer until recently. As for international disciplines such as League of Legends or Counter-Strike, they always had separate servers and game clients in China, closed off from the rest of the world as per local legislation. Despite these restrictions, China has repeatedly proven its ability to host significant international tournaments.

In 2024, two major LAN tournaments for Counter-Strike 2 will take place in China — IEM China 2024 and Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024. The latter marks the first Valve Major in the country's history. It's crucial that the local tournament operator Perfect World is involved in its organization: this clearly indicates Valve's interest in further developing the CS market in China.

Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 announcement / Photo: twitter.com/PWRDEsports

Along with Counter-Strike 2, another popular team-based shooter, Valorant, will also make its way into China. In 2024, China will have its own partner league within the Valorant Champions Tour, and the VCT 2024: Masters Shanghai will take place. Thus, Valve and Riot Games will compete in the Chinese market not only in the MOBA genre, so it's possible that China will also take over the baton from Brazil and become a new battleground for competing PC shooters.

Chinese League of Legends fans can also rejoice as the Mid-Season Invitational 2024 is finally set to take place in China, the event is to be held in Chengdu in May. The last time China hosted such tournament was in 2016, and it's high time for a new domestic event.

Another instrument for integrating China into the global esports scene could be the international release of its iconic mobile game, Honor of Kings. Developers plan to invest a lot in creating a tournament ecosystem beyond China, thus possibly attracting the attention of Western clubs. In the future, we might witness new collaborations between European and Chinese organizations, similar to what G2 Esports and Invictus Gaming did in Dota 2.

It's challenging to predict the extent of China's integration into the global esports scene. Of course, there is no talk of a complete merger of markets, but expecting a bit more openness to foreign influence seems reasonable.

New Promising Streaming Platforms in Esports

For many years, Twitch has been the dominant streaming service for esports. YouTube is close, and it even manages to gather a larger audience than Amazon's service in some titles, mostly mobile. The status of Twitch and YouTube as leaders is likely to persist in 2024, but now they will face much stronger competition from other platforms, primarily TikTok and Kick, as well as South Korean platforms Naver (CHZZK) and AfreecaTV.

TikTok made a significant breakthrough in 2023, becoming actively used in almost all major esports tournaments, and community casters enthusiastically incorporated it into their multistreams. TikTok particularly excelled in championships for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Free Fire, PUBG Mobile, and Arena of Valor, attracting hundreds of thousands of viewers: during M5 World Championship, the platform set a record for peak online esports viewership, with over 1.18 million Peak Viewers.

TikTok is gaining momentum beyond mobile esports too. For instance, platform garnered a substantial audience during the FNCS 2023 Global Championship, RLCS 2022-23 World Championship, and PUBG Global Championship 2023. There's no doubt that TikTok's position among live streaming services for esports will only strengthen in the future.

A newcomer among streaming platforms is CHZZK, a new live-streaming service from Naver, targeting South Korea. Currently in beta testing, it is expected to be fully launched in mid-2024, but it already gathers a significant audience, as LCK numbers show.

Image: Naver

CHZZK's prospects are extraordinary, as this platform is poised to try to capture the Korean audience that Twitch currently holds. In February 2024, Twitch will cease operations in South Korea due to excessively expensive technical maintenance. Popular Korean Twitch streamers will migrate to other services, and local esports enthusiasts will follow their favorite teams on alternative platforms. After Twitch's departure, the primary streaming services in the country will likely be YouTube Live and AfreecaTV, but CHZZK will also be in the spotlight. CHZZK's advantages include support for Full HD 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second, automatic storage of broadcast recordings (VOD), and more — features that Twitch had to abandon in 2022. Importantly, CHZZK will have full support from Naver, the leading search engine and online platform with significant influence and prominence in South Korea.

When discussing promising platforms, Kick cannot be ignored. In 2023, this service entered the industry like a wind, enticing several top Twitch streamers, including those who cover esports (such as NICKMERCS). Additionally, Kick became a sponsor of the Ukrainian esports organization B8 Esports, led by Dendi, one of the most recognizable personal brands in Dota 2. It's currently challenging to predict if Kick will continue expanding its presence in esports, but the platform has everything it needs for that. Firstly, Kick already has experience in sponsoring and organizing its events, helping Colombian streamer WestCOL host his boxing show event. Secondly, Kick possesses significant financial resources, allowing it to secure broadcasting rights for specific tournaments or even entire disciplines.

Another crucial point is that Kick may not need to actively do anything, as the share of esports broadcasts on the platform will naturally grow due to community casting. The same applies to content creators who engage in multistreaming across multiple platforms, and Kick is one of the options for them.

"The live streaming market is growing rapidly. The latest quarterly report from Streams Charts showed that Western platforms such as Kick is gaining in popularity, and among Asian services, AfreecaTV is becoming a more serious player in the region. More new services are on the way, with X Live opening up unique opportunities for the community in terms of social network broadcasting.

For esports number of viewers and finding new audiences have always been crucial. Many teams are opening up rosters in other regions to try to enter new markets, and broadcasters are introducing alternative streams in other languages. New platforms and exclusivity of broadcasting rights can help in all these aspects."

Nazar Babenko, Streams Charts PM

Mobile Esports Enters New Markets

2024 is poised to be a crucial stage in the development of the mobile esports scene, particularly for Honor of Kings, the popular Chinese mobile MOBA developed by TiMi Studios. Until now, this game has been primarily focused on the domestic Chinese market (known internationally as Arena of Valor), yet it has still become one of the most popular mobile games globally, with over 80 million people playing Honor of Kings daily; on average, more than 145 million unique users launch the game each month.

In 2022, Honor of Kings began gradually expanding onto the international stage. Developers organized test regional tournaments in Brazil and Turkey, serving as qualifiers for the Honor of Kings International Championship 2022. Additionally, a Wildcard qualification took place in Seoul, featuring teams from Japan, Thailand, South Korea, and Vietnam, as well as several invited Western teams. This marked the first attempt to involve foreign teams in the main tournament of the discipline.

In 2024, the geographical reach of Honor of Kings will expand even further. The game is already available for pre-registration on the Play Market and App Store, with servers set to go live in February for some regions. The global launch of Honor of Kings will undoubtedly impact the esports scene of the discipline. It's worth noting that Honor of Kings International Championship 2023 featured a $10 million prize pool, the largest among all mobile title tournaments last year. This year, international tournaments for HoK will offer a total prize pool of $15 million, and there is little doubt that such substantial prizes will attract attention from the West.

Honor of Kings International Championship 2023 / Photo: esports.net

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, the most popular mobile MOBA in Southeast Asia (and one of the most popular esports disciplines globally) also has a lot to offer in 2024. Recently, organizers published a "roadmap" with the schedule of tournaments for the year: the main feature of the new season will once again be the expansion of the discipline's geographical reach. Primarily, this will include the Chinese market, where mobile gaming is highly developed. In addition to China, ML:BB tournaments will be held in Central Asia.

"Mobile disciplines keep gathering great audiences and breaking viewership records. We will see much more fighting between PC and mobile disciplines in 2024 as mobile game publishers establish considerable budgets to cover new countries. As a result, audiences in traditional PC game regions will pay more attention to mobile competitors."

Sergii Rudenko, Esports Charts Head of Sales & Partnership

Community Casting has Finally Become an Integral Part of Esports

In recent years, community casting has become an integral part of esports. It is not uncommon for popular streamers to gather more viewers during tournaments than official channels. Riot Games, in particular, has actively embraced this during Valorant and League of Legends tournaments. Thanks in large part to community casting, the 2023 World Championship set a new esports peak viewership record, surpassing 6.4M Peak Viewers.

A significant factor in the growth of community casting is the involvement of retired professional players. Popular streamers are entering esports not just as external observers but as active participants. Top content creators not only observe but also showcase the success of their esports organizations in the realm of interactive entertainment. Launching organizations is no easy, but it becomes more achievable, especially if the streamer has a strong personal brand, a substantial social media following, and established contacts with sponsors.

Ibai became the major co-caster of LoL events / Photo: Esports Awards

A notable example of such collaboration occurred during LEC Winter 2024. Mad Lions KOI and Karmine Corp, co-owned by popular streamers ibai and kamet0, faced off during the first week of the group stage: both streamers covered the match, and immensely helped in setting a new league record for group stages viewership. The game took place at the Riot Games Arena in Berlin, and fans of both clubs created a lively atmosphere with fan chants, merchandise, and good-natured banter between rivals. It created a fantastic atmosphere reminiscent of major sports competitions, something previously mainly seen in mainstream sports media leagues.

There are numerous other examples of popular streamers in esports. For instance, top YouTubers Ludwig and Cr1TiKaL follow the success of their team Moist in the Rocket League and Smash. The list also includes TheGrefg, co-owner of the Spanish club Heretics, and Disguised Toast, who sponsors Disguised. There is no doubt that we will see even more vibrant collaborations between community casting and esports in 2024.

Esports 2.0 

The esports industry constantly comes up with new formats and adapts to the changing demands of viewers. Long leagues with multiple stages are gradually giving way to short but vibrant show matches and entertaining events. Examples include Twitch Rivals events, the Ludwig x Tarik series in Valorant, the World’s Greatest Gamer competitions, Fortnite's Mad Cup tournaments, ZeratoR's ZLAN events in France, and much more. In a way, top content creators are currently pioneering Esports 2.0. Here, victory is no longer the main goal for participants, and viewers appreciate not just professionalism and click accuracy but the overall entertainment value of the show.

Show events from top streamers are already as spectacular and captivating as classic professional tournaments, gathering offline audiences of no less significance. One of the examples here is the French streamer kamet0 and his event KCX3: Karmine Corp vs The World: over 25,000 fans attended to watch Karmine Corp's show matches in various disciplines,and this doesn't even account for those who watched the show online. Other notable events include League of Its Own 2023, where popular European teams competed against T1, the reigning League of Legends world champions.

KCX3: Karmine Corp vs The World / Photo: twitter.com/FRAGA_62

As Esports 2.0 continues to evolve, professional esports organizations are likely to pay increasing attention to it. Collaboration with top streamers might serve as a unique entry point for them into new regions or disciplines, as well as an attempt to attract a new audience.

Continuous Challenges for Esports Teams

One of the ongoing trends that will continue in 2024 is that esports organizations will continue to focus on stabilizing expenses and finding new sources of revenue. Global economic problems of the modern world have not gone away. The costs of maintaining teams have increased significantly in recent years, with the value of top players already reaching millions of dollars. Moreover, the number of disciplines in the industry has also grown substantially. Esports now encompasses various titles on different platforms, and the popularity of these titles also fluctuates: some quickly plateau, while others develop so rapidly that they surpass more renowned competitors. Clubs will need to conduct a thorough market analysis to understand promising directions and abandon unprofitable ones.

Currently, clubs are increasingly paying attention to the ecosystem of a specific discipline's professional scene. For instance, having partnerships or participating in franchise leagues is considered advantageous, allowing clubs to earn money through revenue sharing from media rights. Clubs are also interested in monetizing their brand through the sale of in-game merchandise or cosmetic items, a model used in Counter-Strike, PUBG, and Valorant. The regional money-spending capacity of players, the popularity of titles and the fan base of the clubs also play crucial roles. There are indeed many factors that organizations must consider when developing their financial strategy.

To optimize expenses (Excel Esports and Giants), and venture into new disciplines or regions (G2 Esports and Invictus Gaming in Dota 2), esports clubs are increasingly joining forces (Mad Lions, Movistar, and KOI). In the future, there will be even more examples of this: smaller clubs will collaborate or event merge for financial reasons, while top organizations will enter disciplines where they might not have had the opportunity to break through independently, especially in partner or franchise leagues with limited number of slots.

"It's important to understand that a club's success depends not only on its performance in the esports arena today, but also on its ability to monetize its brand through the sale of merch, participation in franchise leagues, as well as the development and sale of specialized interesting solutions for players/fans. This requires not only market knowledge and deep understanding of fan interests, but also a continuous exploration of possibilities the market offers."

Artyom Odintsov, Esports Charts CEO

Esports Titles to Look for in 2024

One of the most promising esports disciplines in 2024 could be already-mentioned Honor of Kings by TiMi Studios and Tencent. The first international tournament for the discipline will take place in March in Istanbul, with the second scheduled for June. Additionally, the Mid-Season International Tournament has been announced, featuring 24 teams, including one team from China formed based on the All-Stars region principle. More details about this can be found here.

It will be interesting to see how the professional scene of the soccer simulator EA Sports FC 24 (formerly FIFA) develops in 2024. After the rebranding, EA Sports began actively promoting the title, greatly assisted by the distribution of drops (experience points and player cards) during tournament broadcasts. Thanks to this, the viewership statistics for the discipline significantly improved.

Photo: Activision Blizzard

Call of Duty: Warzone also worth the attention, as it has the potential to become a new and promising esports discipline. Activision has already demonstrated the potential of the game with the World Series of Warzone. While such events primarily featured streamers and content creators in the past, organizers conducted full-fledged regional qualifications in North America, Europe, and other regions in 2023, which is the obvious step towards greater structuring of the esports gaming scene. The World Series of Warzone 2023 Global Finals gathered over 382K Peak Viewers, even surpassing the final tournament of the Call of Duty League season.

The team shooter Escape from Tarkov: Arena also has the potential to become a new esports discipline. Battlestate Games released it in December 2023, and just a few days later, the first tournament called Head Eyes Showdown held at DreamHack Hannover attracted over 121.7K Peak Viewers, nearly doubling all other Escape from Tarkov competitions in 2023. As of now, the creators of Tarkov: Arena have not announced new tournaments; however, they expressed their intention to improve the rating matchmaking system, add new modes and maps, and fix bugs. It is quite possible that they aim to establish the game as a full-fledged esports discipline after a successful debut with Head Eyes Showdown.

AI and Esports

One of the main global trends of 2023 was artificial intelligence and its widespread application in various aspects of human life. There is no doubt that this trend will continue in 2024 and potentially greatly affect esports too. AI is already gradually being integrated into esports, analyzing sponsor integrations in broadcasts, capturing highlights in matches, and providing in-game statistics for viewers. And there's likely more to come.

Some AI-based developments are already assisting esports athletes in their training. For example, they show more optimal strategies, evaluate the success of actions taken, and so on. There are also more practical examples; recently, MSI introduced a gaming monitor that can increase the aiming area in shooters or indicate from which side to expect an attack from an enemy hero in League of Legends.

There are also many technical aspects that artificial intelligence can streamline. For instance, in matters of transcoding or multilingualism in live broadcasts. On paper, this could take the accessibility of esports broadcasts to an unprecedented level, as the streams will be available to viewers — without exaggeration — worldwide.