The business and law of eSports (in 20 minutes)

Jas PurewalCasual Connect Europe17 Feb 2016

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What we’ll discuss

1. eSports: some numbers

2. Key players in eSports

3. Legal stuff and where eSports needs to evolve

4. Business opportunities in eSports

5. The opportunities for developers

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About me

I’m a video games and eSports lawyer. Over a decade in international law firms in London, mainland Europe and Silicon Valley, then founded Purewal & Partners, the first European firm to specialise solely in these areas, in 2014.

I have advised nearly all parts of the eSports ecosystem including players, clubs, broadcasters, event organisers and brands over the last 5 years.

I <3 eSports: Hearthstone (OK), Starcraft 2 (badly), CS:GO & DOTA (don’t ask).

Come say hi: @gamerlaw.

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eSports: just a few numbers

• c.500,000 years of Twitch videos were streamed in 2015 alone! (Twitch)

• Market revenue? eSports revenue estimates for 2014: $194m, 2015: $325m; 2016: $465m; 2019: $1bn? (Newzoo)

• Hearthstone has around 40m registered accounts and monthly revenue of at least $20-30m (Superdata; IGN)

• Riot’s 2015 estimated revenue for League of Legends was $1.6bn. By comparison: DOTA 2 c. $238m and CS:GO $221m? (Superdata)

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Some key players in eSports: developers and publishers

Giants

Indies

Big publishers?

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Some top clubs (right now)

SKT T1 (Korea) EHOME (China) NiP (Sweden)ROX Tigers (Korea) Evil Geniuses

(US)LDLC (French)

Immortals (US) Alliance (Sweden)

Fnatic (Sweden)

Edward Gaming (China)

OG (EU) EnVyUs (French)

ahq e-Sports Club (Taiwan)

LGD (China) TSM (US)

League of Legends: http://www.gosugamers.net/lol/rankings DOTA 2: http://www.gosugamers.net/dota2/rankings CSGO: http://www.hltv.org/?pageid=182

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Some top players (right now)

Faker (SKT T1) UNiVeRsE (Evil Geniuses)

GeT_RiGhT (NiP)

YellowStar (TSM) Aui_2000 (Digital Chaos)

Shox (G2 Esports)

Marin (SKT T1) ppd (Evil Geniuses) kennyS (EnVyUs)Bjergsen (TSM) Xiao8 (LGD) Olofm (Fnatic)Huni (Immortals) Hao (Newbee) F0rest (NiP)

League of Legends: http://www.lolesports.com/en_US/featured/top20 DOTA 2: http://www.animationcareerreview.com/articles/top-10-esports-players-all-time CS:GO: https://www.gfinity.net/news/details/thorin-s-top-20-cs-go-players-of-all-time-10-1

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Club/player remuneration

(NB figures are an approx. range based on emergent industry trends – not universal!)

• Tournament proceeds (10-20% cut to club; 90-100% to players)• Team sponsorship/merchandise (100% to club)• Player sponsorship/merchandise (100% to player, but deals fairly rare still)• Streaming (c. 90-100% to player)• Stickers/virtual items (negotiated)

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Leagues/organisers

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Broadcasters

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A few sponsors

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Legal stuff and the evolution of eSports

• Player/team matters• Commercialisation problems• Broadcast regulation/media rights• Integrity issues (cheating, doping etc.)• Socio-legal questions, e.g. child protection, gambling, alcohol/adult content

• Common standards • Who’s minding the shop?

Image credit: Rockstar Games / http://www.slowdown.vg/2009/11/17/red-dead-redemption/

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Some opportunities in eSports

• Content• Player representation• Clubs• Broadcast and VODs• eSports ecommerce• eSports marketing/sponsorship

Image credit: icanhascheezburger.com / http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0835/8481/files/gold-in-them-thar-hills_large.jpg?10655207184190921500

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Content opportunities for developers in eSports• All major eSports to date have been largely retrofitted for eSports.• All the indicators point to substantial eSports growth.• eSports is still waiting for its ‘Supercell moment’ – could it be you?BUT…• eSports ≠ F2P. In fact, eSports ≠ video games.• Building an eSports-first game is hard, risky and with unique design issues. • There will be competition (back to that Supercell moment).• Cooperation with key eSports player and understanding the market will be key.• Want moar tips? Drop me a line…

Thanks!

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Jas PurewalPartner

Purewal & Partners LLP............................................................

E:   jas@purewalandpartners.comW:  www.purewalandpartners.com

T:   @gamerlawA:  1 Fore St, London EC2Y 9DT, UK............................................................