Loco Becomes Only Indian Streaming Platform to Be Featured in Newzoo's Global Esports Ecosystem Report

In its new Esports Ecosystem Infographic for 2022, Newzoo gave its audience a glimpse into the world of its ecosystem and highlighted its major players. Loco became the only Indian streaming platform to be featured in the "Livestreaming Platforms" category.

Publishers and Esports Game Titles

The biggest change in the esports landscape has been Riot Games’ booming popularity. While League of Legends is already an established esports title that has been around for over a decade, the publisher is making major strides to cement its place in the esports sphere. Riot Games’ latest releases Wild Rift and Valorant have been featured in the “Publishers and Esports Game Titles” category. Both games came out in 2020 and have quickly garnered the attention and respect of gaming and esports fans throughout the world.

Other games in the category include Fortnite, Free Fire, Rainbow Six: Siege, League of Legends, Dota 2, and other popular titles. But when it comes to publishers the landscape remains stagnant but one can hope that new publishers break into the space with competitive esports events in the future.

Livestreaming platforms

While the livestreaming space was formerly associated with only Twitch and YouTube, homegrown livestreaming platforms like Loco (India) have received a lot of recognition. Loco was the only India based livestreaming platform to be included in the report, presumably due to its $42 million USD fundraise which included prominent investors such as Hashed, Makers Fund, Catamaran Ventures, Lumikai, Korea Investment Partners and Hiro Capital.

TikTok is also one of the most important social media platforms for gaming and esports content due to its sheer popularity among today’s audience.

Tournament Organizers, Tournaments, and Teams

Apex Legends Global Series’ return to LAN helped bolster its popularity this year. With DarkZero (former Reignite roster) winning two LAN events in a row and becoming world champions, EA’s battle royale has gained a lot of attention in 2022.

Rocket League Championship Series 2021-22 was also one of the biggest events hosted by Psyonix. The event featured a new format, more teams, more events, and a return to LAN after the esports scene was forced into an online format due to the global pandemic.

When it comes to esports teams, industry behemoths like NA’VI, Team Liquid, Fnatic, 100 Thieves, G2 Esports and others continue to dominate. LOUD is one of the newer teams that has made its presence felt on the global stage and has been featured in Newzoo’s report.

Sponsors

While athletic, gaming hardware, and sportswear brands continue to be some of the biggest sponsors of the esports industry, the cryptocurrency industry is also becoming important to esports. Platforms like BYBIT, Crypto.com, FTX, and Coinbase are sponsoring events, esports teams, and more.

The esports industry continues to evolve and there have been some shifts in the industry over the past few years. Livestreaming platforms like Loco or cryptocurrency platforms like FTX entering the industry proves that esports is evergrowing and there is always room for new players to break into the market.