Raport Let’s Play! 2021: rynek e-sportu w Polsce

Let's Play! 2021: the Polish esports community is on its way to becoming mainstream

The esports market in Poland grows steadily and increasingly becomes recognized as a „normal” part of the entertainment industry. More than half (52%) of the Polish population age 16-65, were previously exposed to esports content and 26% have paid at least once to buy products, content or services connected with esports.

Still, there is more upward potential, especially with regards to raising esports awareness. Esports, which are a part of gaming, is not fully recognizable yet. Close to two-in-three people have heard of the term before (61%) but only 39% are able to define the term correctly. In a European comparison, however, Poland can be considered one of the esports strongholds in terms of consumers awareness and reach, together with Spain and Italy. This is the result of the Deloitte report ‘Let’s Play! 2021 – The European esports market’, for which a consumer survey among some 20,000 consumers in 12 European countries and regions was conducted.

The Polish esports market attracts celebrities and leading companies

Polish leader pay-TV leader Polsat Group runs ‘Polsat Games’ which is entirely dedicated to broadcasting games.. It shows a number of different programs about games and is partner of big esports events, like ‘League of Legends Ultraleague’. The channel doubled its viewership numbers year-to-year (Jan 2020 – Jan 2021).

Esports’ market potential is increasingly recognized by celebrities who start to engage and consequently generate even higher market perception. Dawid Podsiadlo, a popular musician in Poland, has invested in the Polish Esports League, thus taking up shares in a company which is co-owned by former Polish basketball player Marcin Gortat . The Polish Esports League is especially known for its ‘Counter Strike: Global Offensive’(CS: GO) competitions, a game that has been at the forefront of esportssports titles in the world for many years.

Since 2013, the ‘Intel Extreme Masters’ (IEM), one of the most important annual esports events globally, is being held in Katowice. Host of the event is ESL, one of the biggest esports tournament organisers and production companies. In 2019, IEM’s last edition with spectators in attendance before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic recorded close to 170,000 thousand visitors from 60 countries. IEM 2020, which was held in an online-only format, recorded almost 1 million viewers in peak on its online streams.

One of the latest notable events within the Polish esports market is the ‘Pasha Gaming Camp‘, a project which was started in 2021 by Jarosław "pashaBiceps" Jarząbkowski, a leading Polish CS: GO player who played for the Virtus.pro team. The idea behind the project was to show younger esports fans how to combine sports and esport. The spots at camps sold out within three minutes, confirming the brand power of “pashaBiceps”.

Playing Poles are more willing to spend money

Poland is a stronghold in the European gaming and esports landscape. According to Newzoo, approximately 16 million Poles play games, using a variety of platforms.

The most popular esports games – referring to a game’s popularity as a passive viewership product - are Shooters (59% of esports consumers have watched Shooter games), Sports simulations (54%) and Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) (49%). Other popular esports genres include Real-time strategy (RTS), Battle royale, Racing games, Role-playing games (RPG) and Collectible card games, which have a reach between 33% and 48% among the Polish esports audience.

One-in-four (26%) Poles between 16 and 65 have made esports-related purchases before, either for themselves or as a gift, which is the highest share in a European comparison. One-in-five esports consumers pays for a membership with their favorite team, including services such as access to premium content or member log-ins on the teams’ company website or app.

Also, beyond pure esports consumption, consumption patterns of the esports audience can be considered interesting. Among esports consumers, 62% have stated to prefer online shopping over traditional shopping, compared to 40% among non-esports-consumers. Furthermore, 65% of esports consumers find advertising useful and informative, whereas among non-esports-consumers only 42% agree with this statement.

The COVID-19 pandemic boosted the interest in the esports scene

Gaming and esports significantly benefitted from mobility restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, esports gained reach and awareness, as 46% of the Polish esports audience have stated to have watched esports for the first time in either 2020 or 2021. Furthermore, 44% of those who have already watched esports before the outbreak of COVID-19 have increased their consumption in this time.

Similarly to other European markets, this popularity growth did not result in overall revenue growth. Ticketing and merchandising revenues almost disappeared in consequence of event cancellations, and consumption was mainly limited to digital and television channels.

In the future, the industry’s challenge is to retain the fans and users which were attracted during the pandemic and additionally attract new ones, to further pave the way for esports to become a mainstream entertainment product in Poland.