Our roundup of October’s big numbers in tech, games and software…
E-sports Industry now worth $1.1bn
A recent report published by Currys PC World has shown the total revenue generated by the global e-sports industry has tripled from $235mn in 2015 to $1.1bn in 2020. In the same time period, the audience size has quadrupled from 120 million to 495 million viewers. Whilst COVID-19 has been responsible for cancelling a plethora of major e-sports events in 2020, the unwavering growth of the industry is only set to increase with estimations of a $1.8bn valuation by 2022. The report further details how sponsors made up $456mn of the overall $1.1bn revenue, with high-profile sponsorship including Red Bull, BMW and Drake.
Video games top list of pocket money spending amidst COVID-19 lockdown
Since COVID-19-induced lockdowns commenced worldwide, children’s spending habits have transformed in the UK according to a quarterly survey carried out by RoosterMoney. The survey documented the responses of 24,000 British children aged between four and fourteen, which revealed that kids are spending more money than ever on video games as opposed to old classics such as books, sweets and toys. The survey goes on to specify that Roblox and Fortnite claim first and second position for the item’s children spend the most money on, with an old favourite Lego being knocked down to third position. As children in the UK return to school, experts are unsure whether this spending trend will continue.
TIGA has revealed the UK’s video games industry has experienced a 12.2% increase in the number of creative roles and now contributes £2.2 billion to UK GDP
In their latest report, TIGA have highlighted a 10.6% growth in the number of games developers, a 12.2% increase in the number of creative staff working in studios across the UK, and a 17.3% growth in the number of jobs indirectly supported by games development studios. Unsurprisingly this sharp increase in video games sector employment has been accompanied by an equally extensive rise in industry revenue, with TIGA stating the sector is now contributing £2.2 billion to UK GDP. Genba have echoed this impressive employment growth, increasing our workforce by 60% since the start of lockdown. Meeting the demand of a steep increase in digital games sales, welcoming new partners to our network, and the development of our NextGen platform has required a significantly agile approach from our team.
National Cyber Security Awareness Month – COVID-19 causes 72% growth in ransomware attacks and 50% increase in mobile vulnerabilities
October 2020 marks the 17th year of National Cyber Security Awareness Month. Recent statistics from Skybox Security suggests that the new COVID-19 working lifestyle has opened the door for a 72% increase in ransomware attacks and a 50% increase in mobile vulnerabilities. With the workforce now largely working from home, the network perimeter has been widened, meaning securing it becomes increasingly difficult for companies and businesses globally. To combat this, the theme of this year’s awareness month is ‘Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart’, promoting the idea that securing against cyber threats should not be an issue reserved for a company’s IT team. Rather, it’s a problem that all employees should be responsible for preventing.
Digital console spending increased by 40% due to surge in big game launches
According to a monthly report published by SuperData, digital games accumulated a total of $10.7 billion in revenue for September 2020 alone. This impressive figure was driven by increases in spending across numerous platforms, including mobile up by 9%, PC by 8%, and staggeringly – console up by 40%, with the latter driven by releases such as NBA 2K21, Marvel’s Avengers and Super Mario 3D All Stars. The strong momentum of digital console games is forecast to continue exponentially as we approach the festive period and welcome a host of new AAA title releases.
Tune in next month for our roundup of November in numbers…
