One of the most exciting and forward-thinking developments to take place in Shoreditch over the last few years is that of the Red Bull Gaming Sphere. Created as a gaming space for both enthusiasts and professionals alike, this recent effort by Red Bull raises the standard for national gaming hangouts and professional competitions.
Lined with high-powered ASUS PCs, PS4s, Xbox Ones, Nintendo Switches, as well as a variety of modern additions like VR headsets and Sim-Lab Racing chassis, the Red Bull Gaming Sphere stands indicative of the ever-growing popularity of high-level gaming lounges.
Why Red Bull?
For those out of the loop with either gaming or professional sports, Red Bull happens to be one of the biggest sponsors in sports and eSports alike. This is funded directly through an annual marketing budget of around $300 million, according to Puzzle London. While the exact amount which is spent on eSports alone is unknown, given recent effort such as the Game Sphere the investment here is likely a growing proportion. Focusing on extreme sports and eSports has been an especially great help in establishing the visibility of the brand within the youth market, which the energy drink company identifies as their target audience.
While the mass acceptance of eSports is often underestimated, it is in fact incredibly popular. The biggest tournaments in the world like Dota 2’s The International consistently bring in prize pools of around $20 million, according to website eSports Earnings. As millennials tend to be far more interested in these areas and are now making up increasingly large proportions of audiences, developments like the Red Bull Gaming Sphere are set to become more standard and widespread. Of course, not many at the moment can stand up to what the Red Bull Gaming Sphere does as the UK’s largest public eSports studio, but by raising the standard in such a way at least gives the smaller guys something to reach for.
Who Else is on Board?
With pro gaming now becoming so lucrative at least in the upper echelons of techie crowds, it makes sense that a wide variety of other businesses would become involved in any way they can. While this can include indirect involvement as Red Bull has done with their creation of this Gaming Sphere, the most common form is through direct sponsorship. One of the most successful, bringing in $15.4 million from 632 tournaments and counting, is the team of Evil Geniuses which is sponsored by internet provider Comcast Xfinity. As one of the biggest names in the business, these guys are heavily involved in a wide range of gaming genres, including Mobile Online Battle Arenas (MOBAs), battle royale, and fighting games. With a current focus on the most popular team genres, their biggest numbers come from DOTA 2 and League of Legends.
Among the numerous sponsors are those of Audi, who sponsor the CS:GO team Astralis, and Airbus, who came out of the blue to sponsor League of Legends team Out Of the Blue. Even casino and bookmaker Betway is getting in on the action with their support of CS:GO team Ninjas in Pyjamas, while they’re also expanded their offering to eSports betting markets. Another entry from the tech industry is that of the wireless carrier T-Mobile. Sponsoring team like Cloud 9 for Overwatch (which have themselves inspired the worldwide meme below), T-Mobile also invests in tournaments like with the Twitch eSports Arena which took place in the LA Staples Center in 2017. T-Mobile and Red Bull aren’t the only names to heavily invest in the infrastructure side of the equation, however, as there other big names who have made great strides in bringing these games to the masses. Among these are Coca-Cola, who are huge sponsors of the League of Legends world championships and even host viewing parties, and Intel, who support the Electronic Sports League, the longest-running eSports tournament in existence.
A Sign of Things to Come
At this point, we are far removed from the niche beginnings of video games. Overtaking the US Box Office in 2013 and bringing in $70.4 billion compared to the Box Office’s $35.9 billion, gaming is not just accepted among the masses, it is loved. With developments like smaller gaming sports bars and larger studios such as the Red Bull Gaming Sphere now becoming increasingly common and popular both, it’s only a matter of time before this industry surpasses many of its more traditional brothers. It is the social aspect of gaming which has always been key, after all, from the early huddling around single cabinets to hooking up multiple computers for early LAN parties, and finally the huge arenas of today, social gaming is bigger than ever. The future for gamers has never been so bright, and that suits us just fine.
