Representatives of major esports clubs, including G2 Esports, Team Vitality, Cloud9, 100 Thieves, SK Gaming, and Team Liquid, discussed the esports winter—the decline in audience and investments in recent years. They assessed the industry's state in comments for Esports Insider.

The term "esports winter" began to be used in the industry to describe the drop in club revenues, broadcast audiences, and investments in the professional scene following the 2020-2021 coronavirus pandemic. The leaders of many clubs noted that esports is not on the brink of a crisis—rather, the metrics and revenues are returning to pre-pandemic levels.

In the new reality, esports clubs are adopting different strategies to stay in the industry. Team Vitality and SK Gaming, for example, rely on expense planning and reliable investors willing to look for a long run. Meanwhile, 100 Thieves and G2 Esports focus on the media aspect and entertainment, and Cloud9 often engages in optimization—evaluating the profitability of different disciplines and making plans based on the specifics of each game. Many leaders emphasize that prize money alone is insufficient—it is too unstable to build business models around.

While all the speakers are understandably focused on their respective clubs, it is important to remember that the esport industry as a whole wasn't able to form a sustainable ecosystem. While more money is poured to esports now, we're yet to see the new principles, on which everyone will stand.

Main image: Gufis

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