2025

Välisalo, Tanja; Brock, Tom; Law, Ying-Ying

This chapter explores the history and characteristics of esports spectators, as well as the technological and business aspects of esports spectatorship. In early competitive gaming taking place in game arcades and within homes using consoles, the roles of players and spectators alternated, whereas current professionally created esports infrastructures have defined and regulated a particular place and role for esports spectators. This chapter provides insights into the demographics and motivations of esports audiences and highlights the diversity of audience practices and engagement in esports. Esports business models most relevant from a spectator perspective are discussed from sponsorships to new forms of hybrid participation. The continuing innovation and diversification in esports spectatorship present opportunities for further research and commercial applications. Key highlights include: (1) esports organizations have cultivated audience behaviors that are similar to traditional sports, but esports audiences also engage in many practices common in media fan cultures; (2) spectator participation in esports livestream chats is more reminiscent of crowds chanting and shouting in live events than other forms of online communication; and (3) statistics and data insights are particularly important for esports spectators, as esports can be much harder to follow and understand, especially for new audiences.