The burgeoning esports market will grow 38 per cent year-on-year research firm Newzoo reports.

In its 2018 Global Esports Market Report, the outfit says that the pro-gaming sector will generate $906m; $345m of that will be coming from North America, with a further $164m coming from China.

Of that $906m, $77 per cent will come from brand investments, a figure that will grow from $694m this year to $1.4bn by 2021. By that point, it'll be 84 per cent of esports revenue.

Last year, there were 588 'major esports events' that generated an estimated $59m - that's up from $32m in 2016, almost double.

Meanwhile, esports prize money broke the $100m for the first time, with $112m being dolled out at events.

"As a consumer phenomenon, esports continues to grow its huge base of passionate fans
across the globe," CEO Peter Warman said.

"As a business, esports is now entering a new and critical phase toward maturity. Big investments have been made, new league structures have been launched, sponsorship budgets have moved from experimental to continuous, and international media rights trade is starting to heat up. At the same time, player salaries have soared and the esports ecosystem and viewership hours still very much rely on a select number of globally operating teams and game franchises. Profitability and return on investment is, for many organisations at the heart of the esports economy, a challenge."