The amount of prize money in esports, where gamers play competitions in front of their computer, is increasing. This week, the American gaming company Epic Games announced that it would be providing $100 million in prize money for the first esport season of ‘Fortnite: Battle Royale’. That should give the, at this moment, most popular game among young people an extra boost.
Prize money esports is growing rapidly
Image – Prize money esports. Amounts in $ mln. – With Fortnite, the prize money rises to a record in 2018.
The prize money for Fortnite is almost as high as the total prize money that was awarded to all esport competitions in 2017. This illustrates the increasing attention that is paid to esport, especially among young people. Nowadays, esports competitions even take place in stadiums full of supporters. Companies also see commercial opportunities because of the ever-growing attention and sponsor events or players.
Epic Games doesn’t earn anything with the basic version of the game. It is free of charge. However, the company does earn a lot money with options in the game. This way, players can buy a different look for the character they play with. Per person it is a small amount of money, but with millions of players the total can increase quickly. According to SuperData Research, the in-game purchases of Fortnite generated $126 million, in February alone.
Dota 2 so far the biggest
Image – Prize money in esports in 2018 so far, excl. Fortnite. Amounts in $ million.
Dota 2 leader in prize money
In terms of prize money, Fortnite will go beyond the current largest esport games. So far, Dota 2 has been the leader, paying out almost $10 million in prize money worldwide in 2018. In total, the counter for all esports is $141 million in prize money, spread over 918 tournaments, according to data from Esports Earnings. This is calculated from the first esports competition of Dota 2 in 2013.