Big multinationals tap into China's growing e-sports industry

China has witnessed expanding scale of online game sector with growing number of users in recent years. Famous multinational corporations, including furniture chain IKEA and optics giant Zeiss, are vying for a piece of the industrial boom to tap into the world's largest e-sports market, Economic Information Daily reported.

The trend is echoed in a recent report by the Game Publishing Committee of the China Audio-video and Digital Publishing Association and the China Game Industry Development Research Institute released in December 2020.

Revenues generated by China's e-sports market hit 136.56 billion yuan ($21.14 billion) in 2020, soaring from 94.73 billion yuan in 2019 with an increase of 44.16 percent year-on-year. Number of e-sports games players reached 488 million last year, up 9.65 percent from that of 2019.

According to iResearch, a provider of analytics and consulting services in China, the country's e-sports market is expected to register 165.14 billion yuan in scale next year.

IKEA, the world's leading furniture retailer, debuted its new home goods for e-sports use in Shanghai on Jan 29, including game desk and specially designed storage cabinet.

In cooperation with ROG (Republic of Games), the high-end hardware supplier for PC gaming and e-sports under ASUSTeK Computer Inc, IKEA will roll out a series of furniture and home goods for Chinese and global game players.

Anna Pawlak-Kuliga, CEO and president of IKEA China, said the company hoped to create a comfortable, organized and health gaming experience for players with the new collection.

IKEA is not the only traditionally non-e-sports company seeking to diversify into the Chinese market in recent times.

German optical systems firm ZEISS is also tapping the booming game industry in China. It signed a deal with Invictus Gaming, one of China's top e-sports organizations in early January, aiming to explore the potential for optical enhancements of equipment, and improve the visual experience for e-sports players.

Xu Bo, the executive deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai eSports Association, said e-sports industry has gathered a large group of young consumers with strong consumption potential, and it's an inevitable trend that gaming sector will be in deep integration with related traditional industries.

"As the most important market among global e-sports field, China will bring extensive opportunities to related sectors, and attract more multinational companies to tap into the sector," Xu said.