Top 5 Esports Live Streaming Markets

Live streaming is one of the most lucrative online markets. A recent Live Streaming Market Overview found that the overall live streaming industry will be worth $559.63 billion by 2032, up from $90.01 billion in 2024. Within the live streaming industry, one section is dominating the market: Esports. 

The gaming category on YouTube grew by 13% in Q1 of 2023, accounting for 17% of all live stream hours on the platform. These numbers highlight how gaming content is becoming increasingly popular, especially among influencers and gaming communities. Within the esports live streaming sector are different markets that cater to different audiences. In this article, we will examine the top 5 esports live streaming markets. 

MOBA

Arguably, the most famous esports genre, Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games, is driving huge viewership in live streaming. Fans from across the world follow MOBA teams as they enter tournaments and professional leagues throughout the year. Most MOBA viewers are players themselves, and these streams are used to help them improve their own playing ability.

Professional esports teams such as T1 use live streams to interact directly with their fans. Their T1 Pop chat service allows fans to interact with the players through real-time live chats and a one-to-one messaging feature. The most popular MOBA title is League of Legends, and the tournaments draw millions of views worldwide. The League of Legends 2024 World Championship recorded 6.86 million viewers, making it the top live-streamed esports tournament.

Esports Football

None of the professional sports that have transferred over to esports have taken off compared to esports football. This has also led to an explosion in live streams, with millions of people watching the top tournaments online. Popular tournaments like the FC Pro Open, which was held last November and ran to February, were streamed weekly on both Twitch and YouTube.

The final, which was won by Anders “Vejrgang” Vejrgang, registered just over 4 million hours watched and 124,081 average viewers in over 38 hours of airtime. The FC Pro World Championship 2024 held in Berlin, had a peak viewership of 113,763, demonstrating why this is one of the top esports live streaming markets.

Competitive Card Gaming

Competitive card games have carved out a niche in the esports streaming world, blending strategy, mental agility, and long-term skill development. While digital titles like Hearthstone and Legends of Runeterra have led the way in traditional esports circuits, real-money platforms and tournaments for games like online poker have drawn consistent audiences for over two decades.

One standout example is Lukas “RobinPoker” Robinson, who set a Twitch record by streaming 1,000 hours of competitive card play over 100 days. Platforms such as ACR Poker have built thriving live streaming communities through daily content, giveaways, and high-level match analysis. Their Stormers stream team engages fans with real-time hand reviews and interactive chat commentary, making the experience more engaging for newcomers and veteran players alike.

Competitive card gaming may not be as fast-paced as MOBAs or battle royales, but its steady viewer base and deep player engagement make it a strong presence in the esports streaming landscape.

Battle Royale

Battle Royale games continue to dominate both casual play and competitive scenes, making them a major force in live streaming. Games like Fortnite, PUBG, Apex Legends, and Free Fire maintain massive communities and regularly host high-profile tournaments with strong viewership numbers.

One of the biggest esports events in the Battle Royale space, the Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS), regularly draws in hundreds of thousands of live viewers. Apex Legends Global Series also performed strongly across Twitch and YouTube, with audience engagement driven by team rivalries and fast-paced gameplay. With mobile and PC versions available in many of these games, battle royale streaming is thriving worldwide, especially in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and North America.

Real-Time Strategy (RTS)

Real-time strategy (RTS) has become a popular market for live streaming due to its competitive gameplay, a large community of players, and nostalgia for classic games such as Age of Empires, StarCraft, Warcraft, and Command and Conquer. Like MOBA, RTS engages players through its fast-paced gameplay and strategic depth.

The strategic nature of the game, however, provides players with more opportunities to interact with their viewers through chat and Q&A sessions. Of the RTS games, StarCraft II is the most popular. As per the latest live stream charts, StarCraft II averages around 17.2K views with an all-time peak of 175.9K.