Video gaming has become a billion-dollar global industry. Almost 250 million people clash online and 3.3 million Italians attend events every week in which the “champions” compete. Covered in gold by ever bigger sponsors
They are practiced (or watched) at home. They are staged in virtual arenas and have the strength of a new secular religion (which moves billions of euros). The protagonists are eSports, or “electronic sports”, the beating heart of a silent and profitable revolution. A true phenomenon of recent years. Technically definable as “competitive video games at professional levels”, they have their roots in the seventies, and to be precise in 1972, when the first Spacewar tournament was held! at Stanford University. The activity passes through arcades in the 1980s, explodes at the end of the 1990s thanks to broadband and today occupies entire stadiums (not just virtual ones) and generates an impressive market, which has turned a niche hobby into a billion-dollar global industry, where paid athletes no longer compete for glory, but for nabob prize money. Almost 250 million fans worldwide. And we are only at the beginning…
In Italy for years, storytelling has relegated competitive video gaming to a pastime for some teenagers. However, it is a prejudice that collides with the wall of data. The latest report drawn up by IIDEA (the association representing the video game industry in our country) in collaboration with Deloitte, photographs the transformation. The number of Italians who attended an eSports event at least once in the last six months of 2024 reached 7.3 million. Even more indicative is the hard core of fans: 3.3 million Italians who watch at least one video game competition every week.
Surprisingly, the identikit of the Italian eSports spectator is mature: the dominant profile is male (68 percent), but it is the age that gives rise to reflection: the most represented group, in 47 percent of cases, is between 25 and 44 years old. The analyzes describe a full-time worker with a medium-high income. Definitely attractive fans in marketing terms: men inclined to spend, accustomed to paying for digital subscriptions (such as Twitch or YouTube Premium) and able to purchase merchandising, expensive hardware and exclusive content. A rich dish.
Geographical detail: many of these enthusiasts do not live in large hyper-connected metropolises such as Turin or Rome, but reside in small urban centers, which thus become part of an immense digital square that embraces Italy and the rest of the world. The hub of business and events remains Milan – starting with events such as the Milan Games Week & Cartoomics -, but cities such as Lucca (with Comics & Games) and Naples (with Comicon) also periodically become capitals of the sector.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is already experimenting with the “Olympic Esports Series”, and national sports federations are taking action by integrating digital versions of their sports into official calendars. But what marks the time of fans are international events such as the World Esports Championship 2025 (WEC25), the IESF competition which brought the national representatives of over 100 countries to the stage in Kuala Lumpur at the beginning of December.
The term “eSports” may seem nebulous, but in reality it is a complex ecosystem, structured into different disciplines, exactly as the Olympics divide athletics from swimming or fencing. The lion’s share is made by the so-called Moba (Multiplayer online Battle arena), available in titles such as League of Legends or Dota 2: two teams, a strategic map, the objective of destroying the opponent’s base. Here it is not just the speed of execution that counts, but the strategy, team coordination and resource management. Then there are the FPS (First person shooter), in jargon “shooter”. An example? The titles Counter-Strike, Valorant, Call of Duty.
But there are also other categories of eSports for video games: with cards, hand-to-hand combat (the “beat ’em ups”), dancing, car racing and so on. Sports simulations are crucial for the Italian market. In a country that breathes football, titles like EA Sports FC (the heir to Fifa) which aim to replicate real sport – same rules, same teams, same idols – are very popular. It should be noted that the big clubs – Milan, Inter, Juventus and others – have already created their virtual divisions, treating “digital” pro-players exactly like real footballers: nutritionists, mental coaches and armored contracts. And how real players are marketable. Just one example: in November Como football made the news, after having amazed with its signing campaign in the real league, it signed the “Maradona of eSports”, the Danish Anders Vejrgang, famous for his incredible streak of victories (almost 550).
However, at the center of everything remain the non-sporting but “survival” mass phenomena (defined as Battle Royale from the title of an old Japanese film) such as Fortnite, where one hundred players land on an island and only one has to remain alive. It’s digital Darwinism applied to entertainment: chaos, fight, pure spectacle streamed and watched by enthusiasts.
Anyone who plays must know the right vocabulary. For example “caster”, to indicate the commentator of the matches; “streamer”, i.e. those who broadcast their matches live by interacting with the public; “pro-player”, i.e. paid professional players.
The real revolution, however, is neither in slang nor technological, but economic. Until ten years ago, the video game industry followed a simple model: create a product, box it up, and sell it to you. Today eSports has turned the tables. In 2023 they surpassed $1 billion in revenues. Italy still represents a fraction of it in terms of direct turnover, but the growth potential estimated by analysts is double-digit for the next three years, driven by the entry of new non-sector sponsors. Nowadays the game is often free (Free-to-Play) and the profit of the multinational creators lies not in access, but in the ecosystem that is created around it. In Italy, 80 percent of the revenue generated by the eSports sector does not come from software sales, but from advertising and sponsorships. In this way, video game competitions are in effect a media platform. “Non-endemic” brands – that is, companies that have nothing to do with computers – are invading the field. These include insurance companies, car manufacturers, banks, fast food chains and even high fashion brands. An example? Gucci and Armani have “dressed” some eSports teams. The aim is to speak to generations Y and Z. It is a total paradigm shift. ESports organisations, such as the Italian giants QLASH (founded by Luca Pagano) or Mkers, or event organizers such as PG eSports, are not simple “teams” but real media companies that produce content, influence opinions and move capital.
And then the talents. Like Riccardo “Reynor” Romiti, from Siena, born in 2002: the Italian prodigy who conquered the roof of the world with the science fiction strategy video game StarCraft II. He said he dedicates around nine hours a day to analyzing opponents’ replays and sessions in the gym to maintain posture and physical resistance (necessary to withstand the mental stress of a tournament). Certainly the career of these talents is very short: burnout is around the corner. Just like for real athletes.
