In 2021, the e-sports industry in Bangladesh grew in popularity, marketing, endorsement, and competition, with tournament prizes gradually rising over the last few years and reaching a minimum of Tk1 lakh for just small-scale tournaments.
And this year, the country saw global tech-giant Tencent follow in the footsteps of Airtel by tapping into the sector, which according to industry insiders can be worth Tk500 crores by 2025, as a sponsor.
Sponsored by China’s Tencent and mobile phone company Infinix, the prize money for the Arena of Valor Bangladesh Championship held at Jamuna Future Park last week was Tk25 lakh.
“It is a matter of great pride that large telecommunication brands like Airtel are showing interest which means that Bangladesh is on the road to achieve world recognition in the Esports sector. As long as opportunities like these arise, the industry will stay on an upward trend, and we will soon be able to generate revenues within our borders just like countries such as India and China,” said Zenetic Esports Founder and Head of Business Mohammad Aliur Rahman.
China, one of the world's largest e-sports markets in the world, generated $385 million in 2020 and was estimated to grow at a compounded rate of 17% until 2023, according to Statista.
Meanwhile, the revenue from mobile gaming alone in India is expected to reach $6,225 million by 2025.
Data from Newzoo, which researches the market for games and e-sports, shows that by the end of 2023, the global market for online games will be worth $204.6 billion.
In Bangladesh, Ulka Games, Hamba Games, Plains, Thunder Games, Free Pixel Games, Rise Up Labs, Alpha Potato have reaped the good dividends for being a part of the e-sports industry.
"Last year, we had an income of around Tk50 crore and paid taxes of Tk11 crore,” said Jamilur Rashid, the CEO of Ulka Gaming.
“Other companies are doing well too… the market for online games in the country will be around Tk500 crore by 2025,” he added.
Sheikh Rezaur Rahman, one of the pioneers of competitive online gaming in Bangladesh, also believes that the size of this market can be even more by 2025.
“But for that, Bangladeshi competitors have to do well in the upcoming Asian Games, for which the intervention of the Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) will be needed,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
E-sports has been included in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games for the first time. There will be 24 medal fights in eight events, of which Bangladesh is taking part in three events.
BOA Director General Fakhruddin Haider said that if Bangladesh does well in the three events in which it is participating, a new federation will be formed in the future.
Aga Rafsan, better known as Reaper or Nafi in the e-sports scene, says the ecosystem for gaming is the biggest industry in the word.
“E-sports is a spectator’s game and the viewership numbers in Bangladesh aren’t that good right now, but the way things are headed, there will come a time where we will have a healthy number of athletes and viewers in each game,” he said.
This will encourage more game developers and publishers to work with Bangladesh, and as a result, more jobs will be created, gamers and esports athletes will be able to make money through sponsorships and viewership, Rafsan also said.
“And most of the money here will be brought through global brands in the form of remittance. How much that will be worth is a hard thing to estimate,” he said.
