As Covid-19 lockdowns in countries around the world continue, the first half of 2020 has witnessed a growth of the global gaming industry, as millions choose video games as their favourite form of entertainment.
Besides spending more time playing video games, eSports fans also significantly increased time spent watching their favourite game titles.
According to data presented by SafeBettingSites.com, users of the world's leading social network, Facebook, spent more than 822 million hours watching eSports in the second quarter of 2020. This is approximately a 316% jump year-on-year.
In the first quarter of 2019, Facebook Gaming hit 164.6 million hours watched on the platform. In the next three months, this figure rose to 197.7 million.
Statistics show that between October and December 2019, Facebook users spent a total of 460.1 million hours watching eSports content.
The COVID-19 lockdown led to new records, with a cumulative 553.7 million hours of eSports watched on Facebook`s gaming video hub in the first quarter of 2020, a 236% jump year-on-year.
By the end of the second quarter of the year, this figure increased by 268.7 million.
Statistics show that Facebook Gaming reached more than 1.3 billion hours watched on the platform in the first half of 2020.
There has been a significant rise of interest in the eSports market in recent years - and it is expected to grow. The total number of eSports viewers is expected to hit 495 million in 2020, a 100 million increase since 2018, revealed the Newzoo 2020 Global Esports Market Report.
The increasing trend is set to continue in the following years, with the number rising to 646 million by 2023.
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