Esports outlook: The Switch’s esports experts look at current trends and what to expect in 2024

The Switch’s head of esports and gaming, JD Wu, and head of business development for global gaming, Charles Conroy, sat down to answer some key questions on where esports is going, giving their take on the trends and technologies driving esports media.

A former professional gamer, Wu started his media career at Riot Games as an esports broadcast observer, playtester and live broadcast technical director, optimising the viewing experience for live games by using innovative production techniques to curate unique esports storylines.

Also a former competitive gamer, Conroy is considered an early pioneer of professional esports. He managed his own teams, including Complexity, an industry standard-bearer that he sold to the Dallas Cowboys, before supporting some of the world’s premier esports tournaments in reaching global audiences with their live events.

From an increasing understanding and acceptance of hybrid production models that combine remote and cloud elements to more industry accommodation for diverse and marginalised audiences, their insights paint an optimistic picture for 2024.

What did you both see as the significant trends in 2023 for esports production?

JW: One of the significant trends I’ve seen is the continued introduction and embracing of marginalised groups into leagues and safe spaces created around tournaments. More productions are happening that focus on marginalised groups – such as women, non-binary, and different ethnicities – and I think that’s great for esports. So much of the untapped viewership that previously wasn’t represented now is. It creates a truer fandom and bolsters the whole community. The fact that esports publishers are embracing diversity is fantastic because we now have productions focused on leagues specifically designed for marginalized groups.

CC: I’ve seen a significant rise in the popularity of collegiate leagues. What people once viewed as ‘second tier’ esports are now getting more of a shot. The big titles still reign supreme, but now even that level has opened up – there’s been a rise in tier one esports leagues, such as Apex and Valorant. These leagues didn’t exist at this level last year. So, more games at the tier one level are getting the creme de la creme productions. So, esports is growing in that capacity. Having more tier one esports means the tier two level also receives a secondhand boost. Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS), in particular, which has been on the rise, continues to grow.

JW: ALGS was also one of the first productions early on to really embrace co-streaming, which was a massive shift in how we view online viewership and how we measure what a successful event is. Co-streaming is a relatively recent trend. It’s where content creators and streamers can rebroadcast the live broadcast. It’s called co-streaming because you can access your favourite online personality, giving their two cents through commentary on top of the live broadcast. Maybe you like a specific game, but you also want a particular streamer because they’re funny. So, there’s now a way to watch your favourite funny person but also enjoy the competition and the production quality of the event.

Are there any unexpected trends emerging?

CC: A significant trend people might not realise is that esports viewership has increased. I think there’s a narrative that it’s moved backwards. At SVG Europe’s Esports Summit, they debunked that. Esports viewership is going in a positive direction. It’s not having a 20% boost like during COVID but growing at a more sustainable, normal pace.

JW: I think it’s fair to say that the pandemic created false expectations that esports would explode on the level of major league sports around North America. It was the only thing on because there were no pro sports. But for any sport to grow its viewership by 20% annually is not regular or sustainable.

How do you see these and other trends developing in 2024?

CC: I think continued sustainable growth is precisely what this space needs, and I hope that trend continues. I don’t think we’ll see a 20% gain next year or the year after. But growth under that margin will be healthy for the industry.

Secondly, remote production seems to be something that everyone in esports is now comfortable with. We’ll undoubtedly see more esports tournaments being produced remotely in 2024. We’re seeing many people who have come out of the pandemic embracing remote, hybrid and cloud models, and finding great success.

JW: I see continued growth in marginalised groups having productions built out for them. It landed very well this year within those communities, and publishers and production companies that embrace them are very focused on building on that foundation throughout the esports community. I see that continuing to grow and be adopted by more titles. Another trend is the extended reality (XR) discussion. It’s a tool that everybody enjoys using. With the amount of processing power and how far technology has come, advancements in this area will make it much more appealing for creative directors or executive producers who want to use augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to assist in their storytelling; they are now overcoming previous hurdles.

CC: People are still trying to figure out how artificial intelligence (AI) is used for esports production. I could see AI being leveraged where a specific product or software needs to be created. We’re already seeing AI used for auto-clipping, which is enormous from a streamer perspective. They don’t have to create their clips anymore, necessarily. Instead, at the end of the game, AI will have produced highlights of many top moments for them. We’ve seen this capability introduced already, but as the technology continues to decrease in cost, more streamers are using it.

Where do you see the cloud’s role in production and transmission moving forward? 

JW: The cloud is only getting more powerful and becoming more friendly to integrate into productions and company infrastructure. It’s where you store all of your data and videos; it’s where you’re transferring your videos from a pre-production standpoint; it’s where you’re handling your transmission; it’s where you’re creating production workflows. But a decent amount of education still needs to happen because there’s a lot of misinformation out there and a lack of visibility regarding what the cloud can do, how it can help, and if it’s the right fit.

CC: Cloud and hybrid approaches are helping level the playing field. Say you have your local operators in the studio leveraging the cloud to access different elements of a production that need to be reachable globally with different people and functions at far-flung locations. Contrast that with esports content producers doing international global productions across a range of time zones while having a centralised show, all within a non-cloud environment; that’s extremely expensive and hard to coordinate, and can carry risk in terms of redundancy. Cloud gives them the ability to be flexible, scalable, and able to access different people and services regardless of where they are, and that’s invaluable when you’re trying to expand to a global footprint while producing and delivering content on a lower budget, or just with a more cost effective approach in mind.