Why Gaming and eSports are so important to us

Gamescom, the biggest video game trade fair in the world, is taking place next week in Cologne. Gaming and eSports are of great importance - also for Deutsche Telekom.

Over 370,000 people attended gamescom last year and it’s highly likely that this number will be topped in 2019 because gaming and eSports are really gathering momentum. More and more people are playing. The gaming industry is growing. And eSports will become a billion-dollar market this year. Of course, we at Deutsche Telekom are fully aware of this trend. It’s therefore important that we develop our own skills in this area. In June 2018, we launched a cooperation with SK Gaming – one of the oldest and most successful eSports teams on the planet. We support them with our telecommunications and technology expertise. Together with the team, we will be hosting the Magenta eTrophy – a large tournament – on gamescom Saturday. So I would like to take this opportunity and talk about three things that I like about gaming and eSports.

1. eSports moving from the sidelines into the mainstream

In 2018, revenue from eSports was 865 million U.S. dollars. As mentioned above, the segment will exceed the billion-dollar mark this year. In 2022, revenue is expected to increase to almost 1.8 billion U.S. dollars. According to a recent survey, 65 percent of Germans are aware of eSports, and this number will rise because eSports is becoming increasingly relevant. This has been the case for a number of years in Asia. Professional gaming is even a sport at the Asian Games. It is also recognized as a sport in some European countries such as France and the Netherlands. However, we have not yet reached this point in Germany.

At the start of the year, Managing Director of SK Gaming, Alexander Müller, gave an exciting presentation on the trends of this segment during our Telekom Management Team Meeting. During this meeting, he pointed out that eSports is outpacing the more established sports with regard to the media consumption of younger people. Today, 18-25 year olds watch more eSports online than they do conventional sports. And not only that: There is even an eSports channel in German-speaking countries (which is also available on Magenta TV of course 😊). Tickets for popular large-scale events are sold out in a matter of hours. For instance: Only one event in the entire history of the LAXNESS Arena in Cologne sold out quicker than two eSports tournaments in 2015 and 2016: A Metallica concert.

At Deutsche Telekom, we want to be close to the target group of young adults. To get them excited about our products. However, in order to do so, we need to be visible. We believe that eSports is a great opportunity for us to achieve this. And with SK Gaming, we have the ideal partner.

2. Gaming and eSports are in line with our values

In his presentation, Alexander Müller said something that really stuck with me: “eSports is something that young people have created for themselves.” Young people are coming together. They have a shared hobby, a shared passion. Because, after all, 'Life is for sharing.' Most visitors to gamescom are young people. In 'You and Me', our internal social network at Deutsche Telekom, there is the 'Gaming@Telekom' group. More than 1,500 Deutsche Telekom employees are already members of the group. They chat and speak about eSports as well as general gaming topics. And both break down borders.

I strongly believe that many sports are characterized by the fact that everybody is the same when they step onto the pitch. It’s similar with gaming. Anyone can get involved. Anyone can take part in a sporting competition. One’s origins? Unimportant. Gender? Unimportant. Physical appearance? Unimportant. Physical impairments are also unimportant. So everyone can get involved, everyone can #TAKEPART. And that’s exactly what we stand for.

Of course, fresh air and sport are irreplaceable. It’s important that children and young people continue to be outside, enjoy being active, and discovering fun sports. However, I don’t think sport and gaming are mutually exclusive. In fact, it’s the very opposition: Maybe a console gamer discovers a football tactic that they are able to use in real life – or vice versa. I don’t believe that time in front of the monitor is wasted as some parents may say. Gaming not only connects, it also teaches players to react quickly, to make decisions, and even to concentrate for extended periods of time.

3. Utilizing our strenghts for gaming and eSports

E-athletes need the lowest possible latency times. Every millisecond can be the difference between victory and defeat. And this is where we come in. We want to offer our partners and customers the best conditions. Each year, we invest over 12 billion euros in our network infrastructure around the world. In the future, eSports tournaments will be hosted on the 5G network. Latencies will be kept to a minimum thanks to the edge cloud and 5G. Not only that; the network quality barely experiences fluctuation and e-athletes will greatly benefit from this. It goes without saying that we want to take part in this.

But we’re not just concentrating on e-athletes, we also have our eye on conventional gamers. We have already demonstrated this with StreamOn Gaming. On Monday, we will also announce the beta phase of another product aimed at gamers.