

What Motivates Esports Fans? 2

What Motivates Esports Fans: A Data Driven Model for Business and Development Strategies*

Andrew Curley**

Daybreak Game Company

Mark Nausha and John Slocum

The Guildhall, Southern Methodist University

*please address all correspondence to Andrew Curley at acurley@daybreakgames.com

** Andrew Curley is an Associate Product Manager at Daybreak Game Company, 15051 Avenue of

Science, San Diego, CA 92128; ph: 610-314-5169; Mark Nausha (mnausha@smu.edu: ph: 972-4733563)

and John Slocum (jslocum@cox.smu.edu; ph: 214-460-2116) are faculty members at SMU,GuildHall,5232

Tennyson Parkway, Bldg 2, Plano, TX 75024-3526. The authors express their appreciation to Doug

Lombardi of Valve and Don Hellriegel of Texas A&M for their comments on a previous draft of this paper.

Portions of this paper will be presented at the Game Development Conference in Los Angeles, CA in

March 2018.
What Motivates Esports Fans? 3
What Motivates Esports Fans? 4

Abstract

This research explores the motivations for people to watch esports (“electronic sports”). We define

esports as competitive video gaming, wherein the primary action of the sport takes place in digital rather

than physical space. The esports industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years, prompting

developers, researchers, and fans to understand what motivates people to watch esports. Using Blizzard

Entertainment’s hero-based first-person-shooter Overwatch as a case study, we created a survey based on

the Motivations Scale for Sports Consumption (MSSC). We distributed the survey digitally to fans and

players of competitive Overwatch. The results indicated that two factors, Spectacle and Human Interest,

directly corresponded to number of hours people watched esports events.

Keywords: competitive video games, esports, motivation

What Motivates Esports Fans? 5

Competitive gaming traces its roots back to the arcade era in the 1980s, but the global esports

(“electronic sports”) industry did not begin to form until the late 2000s (British Esports Association, 2016).

Due in large part to the rise of digital streaming platform Twitch.tv, esports has grown rapidly in terms of

viewership and events held per year (Popper, 2013). The global esports audience is estimated to reach 700

million in 2017 (Mosier, 2017) and is forecasted to grow by 50% towards 2020, with global esports

possibly reaching upwards of 1.8 billion by 2020 (Newzoo Esports, 2017). The esports marketplace is

currently dominated by three developers: Riot Games (creators of League of Legends), Valve (Dota 2 and

Counter Strike: Global Offensive), and Blizzard Entertainment (WarCraft, StarCraft, Hearthstone, Heroes

of the Storm, and Overwatch). Game developers view esports primarily as a marketing tool to drive player

engagement and retention. Esports are designed to have a higher degree of longevity compared to other

video games (e.g., Hiltscher, 2017;van Dreunen, 2015; van de Heuvel, 2017).

The esports industry is still in its embryonic stage of development. Business models and

profitability vary widely from developer to developer (van den Heuvel, 2017). As the esports industry

continues through this period of uncertainty, all participants within (generally considered to comprise

developers, publishers, team owners, players, tournament organizers, talent, and sponsors) are working out

reliable ways to engage with esports audiences to secure lasting profitability. Blizzard Entertainment has

been a major player in the esports industry for several decades. Their newest game Overwatch, which we

used as a case study, represents what many consider to be the future of esports(Blizzard Entertainment,

2016; Gilliam, 2016). In 2017, Blizzard launched the Overwatch League. It is a professional esports league

modeled after traditional physical sports organizations (Blizzard Entertainment). In a major departure from

existing esports league precedents, the Overwatch League is based on permanent city-based teams and

provide its players guaranteed salaries (Gilliam, 2016; Blizzard Entertainment, n.d., Handrahan, 2016). We
What Motivates Esports Fans? 6

chose Overwatch as our case study because of its status, it is watched by roughly 25 million people, and

strives to compete with traditional sports models (Blizzard Entertainment, 2016). The purpose of this study

was to understand what motivates people to watch esports. Using the Motivations Scale for Sports

Consumption (MSSC), we found two distinct motivations (e.g., human interest and spectacle) for why

people watch Overwatch esports.

THE STATE OF THE ESPORTS INDUSTRY

Analysts at Newzoo Esports identified six rising trends contributing to the rapid growth of the

esports industry in recent years: 1) games as a service, 2) cross-screen entertainment, 3) creator & live

streaming tools, 4) video platforms & communities, 5) creation & involvement among consumers, and 6)

consumers entertaining other consumers (Newzoo Esports, 2016). As the list implies, the esports value

chain is intricate and has many participants. Once a more universal business model emerges, analysts

expect the market to see more vertical integration and consolidation in the market (van Dreunen, 2015;

Souza, 2015).

The current esports industry is trending towards becoming a global mainstream market (Newzoo

Esports, 2017). In large part this is due to the value of the esports brands (e.g. Red Bull, Nike, etc.) looking

to expand into this market (Newzoo Esports, 2016). The largest demographic for both esports enthusiasts

and occasional viewers are males aged 18 to 25. Males in this age group watch more esports and online

gaming than traditional sports. For example, Complex Gaming, a Houston based esports team, held 130

matches in 2017 that were watched by millions of fans (Mosier, 2017). This age cohort is also notoriously

difficult to reach through traditional advertising. This is a due to their lack of engagement with traditional

media (Newzoo, 2016 and 2017).

The esports industry is expected to generate $696 million in 2017, $517 million of which is

comprised of brand spending (advertising, sponsorship, and media rights) (Newzoo Esports, 2017). Game

publishers will invest $116 million in esports, but this share will not be recouped by any of the other
What Motivates Esports Fans? 7

revenue streams (Newzoo Esports, 2017). The lack of direct profitability does not necessarily indicate that

esports is a poor investment, since these figures do not account for game sales or microtransactions

generated through esports engagement (Newzoo Esports, 2017; van Dreunen, 2015).

Game developers and publishers view esports as a long-term investment to drive viewer’s retention

and increase brand recognition (Plott, Radtke, Goldhaber and Breslau, 2014). For example, Valve

Corporation hosts The International, the largest annual tournament for Dota 2 (developed and published by

Valve) and leverages its Steam digital distribution platform to crowdfund the prize pool through in-game

cosmetic purchases (Valve Corporation, 2013). The most recent edition of The International awarded a

total prize pool of over $24 million, the highest in esports history (Valve Corporation, 2013). In addition to

crowdfunding elements, the Steam platform allows Dota 2 players and fans to create and download custom

content in the form of maps, alternate game mods, cosmetic items, etc. Players can watch competitive

games, including The International, on streaming sites or within the game itself (Valve Corporation, 2013).

Studies show a direct correlation between higher prize pools and larger audiences for esports events; in

Dota 2’s case, the increase in prize pools was also directly proportional to its active user base (van

Dreunen, 2015).

Esports researchers have identified several emerging trends that may define the industry in the

coming years. The first, and perhaps most notable, is that sports finds itself at the converging point of

several other industries: game brands, media, and entertainment companies (Newzoo Esports, 2016;

Crawford, Morgan, Mimms, Sacco and Williams, 2016). A notable example of this is the recent proposed

acquisition of Time Warner by AT&T for $85.4 billion (AT&T, 2016). Time Warner owns Machinima, an

entertainment network focused on gaming-related content (Kang and Merced, 2017), as well as Turner,

which operates ELEAGUE, a Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Street Fighter V. This league

broadcasts on both television and digital platforms (Machinima, Inc., 2017). Similarly, traditional sports

organizations, such as the Dallas Cowboys\, New England Patriots, and New York Mets, have begun to

invest in esports teams (Newzoo, 2017;Soshnick, 2015; Rove, 2016). With increased levels of investment
What Motivates Esports Fans? 8

and influence from these established industries, the esports industry will likely stabilize and begin to

resemble that of traditional sports in the future (Mosier, 2017).

LIVESTREAMING VIDEO AND ESPORTS

Live stream video platforms, such as Twitch.tv and YouTube Gaming, have emerged as the primary

vehicles driving the growth of esports. It is important to study the characteristics and potential that these

medium have on esports audiences. Interest in streaming gained traction among game developers and

researchers in 2014 after the Twitch Plays Pokémon social experiment. Over one million unique users

played an emulated version of Pokémon Red controlled by Twitch chat commands (Twitch, 2014). Through

a study on Twitch Plays Pokémon by Alex Leavitt, the two largest archetypes of participants in the game

were “watch stream, input some commands” (59%) and “watch stream, don’t input commands” (19%).

These data imply that Twitch Plays Pokémon was not so much a game play phenomenon as it was a

viewership phenomenon (Leavitt, 2014). Twitch’s own statistics confirm this assessment. The original

Twitch Plays Pokémon stream received over 36 million total views over its sixteen-day run, with a peak

simultaneous audience of 121,000 viewers (Twitch, 2014). Twitch Plays Pokémon was a major impetus for

Twitch to invest heavily in its Developer Success department. This initiative aims to help game developers

design titles specifically for live streaming audiences in mind (Gleason, 2016; van Dusen, 2016). Esports

was perhaps the most immediately applicable genre for this movement.

MIT Game Lab data analyst Philip Tan analyzed users’ experience of esports spectators through the

lens of traditional sports broadcasts. Tan’s research concluded that an esports game must have five

identifiable items to gain viewers. These are: 1) balance aesthetics and compression, 2) illustrate invisible

concepts of good play, 3) tell the story of the moment, 4) support unique individual commentator styles,

and 5) build viewer excitement through timely delivery of information (Schutter & Tan, 2015). In a paper

titled “What is Esports and why do people watch it?”, researchers identified ten treasons why people are

motivated to watch esports. They developed and validated a Motivations Scale for Sport Consumption
What Motivates Esports Fans? 9

(MSSC). This instrument for measuring sport spectator behavior identifies ten key motivations: 1)

vicarious achievement, 2) aesthetics, 3) drama, 4) escapism, 5) acquisition of knowledge, 6) skills of the

players/athletes, 7) social interaction, 8) physical attractiveness of the players, 9) novelty, and 10)

enjoyment of aggression (Hamari & Sjöblom, 2016). Hamari and Sjöblom collected 888 usable survey

responses. They concluded that escapism, acquisition of knowledge, and the personas of the esports athletes

were positively associated with the frequency that people watched games (Hamari & Sjöblom, 2016).

We agree with Hamari and Sjöblom’s assessment that the MSSC is a reliable instrument for

obtaining valuable data on esports consumers. We differ with their interpretation of the wide-spread

application of their instrument (Hamari & Sjöblom, 2016). Hamari and Sjöblom targeted the general

esports audience, which spans a variety of games across several different genres, each with their own

business and development needs (Hamari & Sjöblom, 2016). Their approach is akin to polling football,

hockey, basketball, and baseball fans on what they enjoy about sports in general. To obtain meaningful data

that can be used to create action items for game developers, it is necessary to study esports audience in

isolation. We chose Overwatch by Blizzard Entertainment as the case study for applying the MSSC.

OVERWATCH AND THE FUTURE OF ESPORTS

Overwatch is the latest game released by Blizzard Entertainment, a developer and publisher with an

extensive esports history dating back to the early 2000s with the WarCraft and StarCraft franchises

(Blizzard Entertainment, 2014). Overwatch is a team-based first-person-shooter with a cast of 24 heroes,

each of whom occupy one of four strategic roles: attack, defense, tank (absorbing or shielding incoming

damage), and support (Blizzard Entertainment, 2016). Unlike other popular hero-based esports titles, such

as League of Legends and Dota 2, players in Overwatch can change their hero at any point during a match.

This allows for highly fluid and tactical game play. In January 2017, eight months after the game’s release,

Blizzard announced that Overwatch had over 30 million players, For comparison, its major esports
What Motivates Esports Fans? 10

competitors League of Legends and Dota 2 have roughly 100 million and 13 million players, respectively (

Wolmarans, 2016; Carpenter, 2017).

Overwatch officially entered the esports space at Blizzcon 2016 (Blizzard’s annual convention), the

site of the game’s first annual World Cup championship as well as the announcement of the Overwatch

League, a professional esports league that takes cues from traditional sports (Gilliam, 2016) (Blizzard

Entertainment). In a major departure from existing esports league convention, the Overwatch League is

made up of permanent city-branded teams, with all contracted players receiving a guaranteed minimum

salary. This feature attempts to address the esports economy’s instability and attract potential team owners

(Gilliam, 2016; Handrahan, 2016; Fisher, 2017). The Overwatch League will also be the first in esports to

feature a combine – a scouting event where amateur players participate in a series of tests – to identify

future teams (Blizzard, n.d.; Kollar, 2016). This is similar to how the NFL functions (Kollar, 2016).

Because the Overwatch League is not planned to begin operation until late 2017 or early 2018 it is difficult

to say whether or not its experimental structure will succeed in the esports industry. Its large passionate

player and fan suggests many consider Overwatch as representing the future in esports (Gilliam, 2016).

Methodology

The researchers collected the data for this research through a digital survey distributed among fans

and players of competitive Overwatch. The survey’s design centered on the Motivations Scale for Sports

Consumption (MSSC) used by Hamari and Sjoblom (2016). As Hamari and Sjöblom stated in their study,

there are several advantages to applying the MSSC to esports: the reliability and validity of the scale has

been tested and proven psychometrically valid, the motivating constructs that make up the scale itself are

general enough to be applied to esports with little to no modification, and its use allows for the results of

this study to be comparable to the larger body of media consumption research (Hamari & Sjöblom, 2016).
What Motivates Esports Fans? 11

Because the esports industry has begun embracing examples from traditional sports, it is both appropriate

and important to also embrace its research and data collection methods.

Survey participants were asked to rate their level of agreement on a 5-point Likert scale with ten

different statements, each representing a motivation construct outlined in Hamari and Sjöblom’s study. The

ten motivations tapped are: vicarious achievement, aesthetics, drama, escapism, acquisition of knowledge,

skill of athletes, social interaction, and personality of athletes, novelty and enjoyment of aggression.

The dependent variable was collected through the question “On average, how many hours of

Overwatch esports content (tournaments, pro player streams, educational videos) do you consume?” with

the following options:

1. Less than 1 hour per week

2. 1 to 3 hours per week

3. 3.5 to 6 hours per week

4. 6.5 to 10 hours per week

5. More than 10 hours per week

A small pilot (n=8) study with colleagues at a major video gaming college was conducted to

identify potential problems with the survey as well as determine an approximate completion time. Then

researchers distributed the survey along with a brief explanation of the project to various internet

communities dedicated to Overwatch. The survey software (Google Forms) does not provide tracking data

to determine traffic sources, but it can be assumed that most participants came from three Overwatch-

related Reddit communities, which currently have a total of over 910,000 subscribers. Additional traffic

came from a competitive Overwatch Facebook group as well as Twitter. The researchers did not provide

incentives for participation and anonymity was guaranteed. We received 1125 responses.
What Motivates Esports Fans? 12

DATA ANALYSIS

Table 1 shows the means for the variables in our study. Hours spent watching esports is labeled

VAR0 and each of the motivations constructs is labeled VAR1 through 10 in the same order listed in the

previous noted. The results indicated that consumers were strongly motivated by the aesthetic value of

high-level play (VAR2), acquisition of knowledge (VAR5), and the enjoyment of the professional players’

skills (VAR6). Conversely, participants were largely unmotivated by displays of aggression and hostile

behavior among professional players (VAR10). A mean of 2.54 for the dependent variable (VAR0)

indicates that competitive Overwatch fans played between 1 to 3 hours of esports content per week. These

results, while of potential interest to researchers and game developers, do not indicate whether each

motivation construct is associated with esports consumption habits.

-------------------------------------------------------

Insert Table 1 about here

-----------------------------------------------------------

The data in Table 2 shows that there is a high intercorrelation among the ten motivational constructs

except for aggression. To determine if these ten items all loaded on the same motivational factor, an

oblique factor analysis rotation was employed. An oblique factor rotation is recommended when the scale

items are highly correlated.

---------------------------------------------

Insert Table 2 about here

______________________________

The data in Table 3 indicates, Variables 2, 3, 5, and 6 (aesthetics, drama, acquisition of knowledge,

and player skill, respectively) highly load on factor 1, while variables 1, 8, and 9 (vicarious achievement,

player personality, and novelty, respectively) load on factor 2. Variable 10 (enjoyment of aggression)
What Motivates Esports Fans? 13

loaded on factor 3. Because single-item scales are notoriously unreliable, we eliminated VAR 10 from

further analysis. Variables 4 and 7 (escapism and social interaction, respectively) did not load high in either

factor, we eliminated them from further analysis.

Insert Table 3 about here

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The researchers created two new variables: MOT1 (comprised of variables 2, 3, 5, and 6) and MOT2

(variables 1, 8, and 9) based on the results of the factor analysis. Cronbach’s coefficient alpha, a measure of

internal reliability, for MOT1 was α=.78 and for MOT2 α=.88. The scale items that make up MOT1 all

relate to the enjoyment of the nature of high-level Overwatch play itself. Therefore, the researchers labeled

this group of questions as “Spectacle.” In comparison, the items that make up MOT2 relate to

psychological attachment to specific teams and players. Thus, they were titled “Human Interest.”

With these two groups identified, the researchers conducted a t-test to determine if these constructs

are different. The difference between the means for Spectacle and Human Interest motivational types is

significant (4.17 versus 3.37 respectfully, p<.0001). Our respondents are more motivated to engage with

Overwatch esports games if they contained more features related to Spectacle than Human Interest.

After creating the overarching motivation groups and proving that these were statistically different, the

researchers formulated the two hypotheses of this study:

Hypothesis 1 (H1): Spectacle fans who spend more time playing Overwatch are more motivated

than fans who spend less time playing Overwatch

What Motivates Esports Fans? 14

Hypothesis 2 (H2): Human Interest fans who spend more time playing Overwatch are more

motivated than fans who spend less time playing Overwatch.

Insert Tables 4 and 5 about here

_________________________________________________________________________________

The data reported in Tables 4 and 5 show a significant difference in the number of hours watched per

week by teach motivational type. Spectacle fans watched the most hours if the game was rated higher in

aesthetics, drama, and acquisition of knowledge. These attributes greatly increased watching time. For

those Human Interest players, if the game contained content that permitted them to vicariously achieve

results by identifying with the player, afforded them the opportunity to observe a player’s personality in

action and contained novelty, the number of hours watched increased.

Conclusion

The purpose of this study was to test a data-driven model for understanding why people watch

esports. Using Overwatch as a case study, the researchers analyzed survey data from 1120 respondents to

compare levels of motivation and hours of Overwatch esports consumed per week. The data indicated that

Overwatch esports fans are motivated to watch esports if the game was rated high on aesthetics, acquisition

of knowledge, the skill level of the professional players, and the dramatic nature of competitive play.

Conversely, fans were unmotivated to watch if the game had displays of aggression from the professional

players and slightly unmotivated by vicarious achievement. Aesthetics and drama emerge from design

decisions made during development of the game. The skill-related motivations emerge from the community
What Motivates Esports Fans? 15

of players and content creators surrounding the game. Displays of aggression emerge from the game

developer’s policy towards player conduct, which lies squarely in the domain of community management.

Because the primary purpose of this study was to determine the effect of certain motivating factors

on the degree of esports content watched on a weekly basis, deeper analysis of the data was necessary.

Since all variables except for enjoyment of aggression (VAR10) were intercorrelated (see Table 2), we ran

a factor analysis (see Table 3). The factor analysis uncovered two different motivational sets. The first

group was comprised of questions that measured aesthetics, drama, acquisition of knowledge, and the skill

of the professional players. The common thread uniting all four questions was the enjoyment of high level

play itself, prompting the researchers to name this group “Spectacle.” The second group was comprised of

vicarious achievement, the personalities of the professional players, and the enjoyment of new players and

teams entering the competitive scene. These items all related to professional teams and players rather than

the intricacies of game itself. The researchers named this group “Human Interest.” The motivations of

escapism, social interaction, and displays of aggression were not related to the hours spent watching

esports.

Creating overarching motivation groups by finding patterns in individual constructs is useful for

game developers. It allows them to interpret general goals in ways that best leverage their unique strengths

and resources. In the case of Overwatch, the fact that esports fans are more motivated by human interest is

of particular relevance to the upcoming Overwatch League. This data also validates Blizzard’s business

decision to create a city-based league structure in an attempt to cultivate loyalty to local team brands. Jerry

Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys and co-owner of a esports team Complexity, plans to have esports

events at AT&T stadium as well as The Star. Complexity will have offices in Frisco, TX and its players to

have access to all of the Cowboys training and development equipment (Mosier, 2017). Similarly, Ken

Hersh, part owner of the Texas Rangers, brought into Team Envy and announced that this esports team was

moving from Chicago got Dallas.

What Motivates Esports Fans? 16

Developers can also analyze the individual items that make up motivation groups in order to create

more specific action items for design or development decisions. For example, one of the constructs that

makes up the Human Interest motivation group in this study is novelty. Novelty describes enjoyment of

new players or teams entering the competitive scene. This validates Blizzard’s decision to introduce a

combine system to the Overwatch League, which provides amateur players an opportunity to rise to the

professional level. Based on the data, Blizzard might engage with esports consumers more by creating

promotional content specifically centered around the Overwatch League’s combine, during which amateur

players compete in a series of tests to earn spots on the league’s professional teams.

The Human Interest motivation group largely pertains to business strategy surrounding Overwatch

esports. The Spectacle group involves both business and design strategy. The spectator’s experience

involves not only the game of Overwatch itself, but also how the esports media content is created and

presented to them. The aesthetics construct pertains to the core art vision of the game – character design,

environments, and animations –which is solidified prior to release. Similarly, the drama construct relates to

the game’s design. In Overwatch, each match consists of an attack and defense round.

The two items that comprise the Spectacle motivation factor are acquisition of knowledge and

enjoyment of displays of skill. They depend entirely on the community of high-level Overwatch players and

content creators. From a business strategy perspective, cultivating a strong relationship with this

community is a key to increasing the longevity of the league. Jerry Jones and other owners believe that the

longevity of esports teams can only be achieved through strong community management. The creation of

improved spectator tools that allow commentators and in-game camera operators to better highlight

important plays and displays of skill will also become more important. Using exciting venues, such as

AT&T stadium and the Star, will heighten interest in the sport. Philip Tan’s best practices for designing

spectator interest are: 1) balance aesthetics and compression, 2) illustrate invisible concepts of good play,

3) tell the story of the moment, 4) support unique individual commentator styles, and 5) build viewer

excitement through timely delivery of information (Schutter & Tan, 2015). Overwatch has seen
What Motivates Esports Fans? 17

improvements to its spectator mode over time, including giving users smooth camera movement and the

ability to bookmark static camera positions throughout each map (Kollar, 2016).

The results of this project differ significantly with that of Hamari and Sjöblom’s study. They

reported that escapism and enjoyment of aggression were positively associated with esports consumption,

while enjoyment of aesthetics was negatively associated with consumption (Hamari & Sjöblom, 2016).

Both studies found that acquisition of knowledge and enjoyment of novelty are positively associated with

esports consumption (Hamari & Sjöblom, 2016). Again Hamari and Sjöblom surveyed a general esports

audience rather than communities surrounding specific games. This may explain our variance with their

data. Compared to other esports titles, Overwatch is praised for its vibrant art style and the quality of its

characters, environments, and animations. This could explain why competitive Overwatch fans are more

motivated by aesthetics than the general esports audience (Gilliam, 2016). Similarly, Blizzard takes a hard-

line stance against aggression, commonly referred to as “toxic behavior,” in its player base, which may also

explain why enjoyment of aggression factors less in Overwatch fan motivation to consume esports content

than other factors.

LIMITATIONS AND FURTHER RESEARCH

The primary purpose of this study was not only to collect data on Overwatch esports, but also to

provide the esports industry at large with a model for studying what motivates fans to watch esports. Future

research should apply the Motivations Scale for Sports Consumption to other esports games and their

communities for comparison with the Overwatch results and with each other. The aggregate of these

isolated studies may result in similarities with Hamari and Sjöblom’s findings. The MSSC a valid and

reliable instrument for studying sports spectators, but other scales may be more appropriate for measuring

esports motivations specifically. Thus, it is perhaps in the esports industry’s best interest to develop its own

measurement scale as a counterpart to the MSSC, iterating and proving both reliability and validity through

many studies over a long period of time. The esports ecosystem is currently growing and experimenting
What Motivates Esports Fans? 18

with different structures, it is important that researchers repeat studies several times per year to track how

fans engage with esports content over time.

The fact that the results of this study validate Blizzard’s esports strategy may originate from the fact

that the data used was self-reported by self-selected survey takers. They are likely to be more engaged with

Overwatch esports content than the average or casual esports consumer. Thus, future studies could address

this by incorporating data from Overwatch esports content on Twitch and YouTube; including time

watched per user, keyword analysis from chat logs, the number and degree of financial transactions during

the stream (donations and subscriptions), and the content of the videos themselves.

As mentioned in the Methodology section, the survey collected data on several variables not

analyzed in this study, including age ranges, primary platform, hours of Overwatch played per week,

highest rank achieved in the game’s competitive mode, and esports consumption outside of and in addition

to Overwatch. Several interesting studies could emerge from this collection. For example, comparing

esports content engagement between console and PC players, between higher and lower ranked players,

players who only consume Overwatch content and those who follow a variety of titles, etc. As with the

motivation analysis, these variables could also be surveyed among other esports communities for

comparison with Overwatch and with each other.

References

AT&T. (2016). AT&T to Acquire Time Warner. Dallas: AT&T.

bartlet4us. (2017, February 23). Translated transcript of Q&A with Nate Nanzer the Overwatch esports global director held in
Korea today. Retrieved from Reddit (r/Competitiveoverwatch):
https://www.reddit.com/r/Competitiveoverwatch/comments/5vr7dx/translated_transcript_of_qa_with_nate_nanzer_the/
Blizzard Entertainment. (2014). Blizzard Timeline. (Blizzard Enteratinment) Retrieved March 21, 2017, from
http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/about/b20/timeline.html
Blizzard Entertainment. (2016). Overwatch. Irvine: Blizzard Entertainment.
Blizzard Entertainment. (2016). Overwatch: Game Overview. (Blizzard Entertainment) Retrieved March 21, 2017, from
https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/game/overview
Blizzard Entertainment. (n.d.). Overwatch League Homepage. Retrieved from Overwatch League:
https://overwatchleague.com/en-us/
British Esports Association. (2016, December 6). A brief history of esports and video games. Retrieved from British Esports
Association: http://britishesports.org/81/news/news-item-1.html
Carpenter, N. (2017, January 26). Overwatch has over 25 million players. Retrieved March 21, 2017, from
https://dotesports.com/overwatch/overwatch-player-numbers-25-million-4550
Cocke, T. (2017, March 10). Why North American teams are going to struggle in Overwatch League. Retrieved from Yahoo!
Esports: https://esports.yahoo.com/why-north-american-teams-are-going-to-struggle-in-overwatch-league-
003504290.html
What Motivates Esports Fans? 19

Crawford, G., Morgan, C., Mimms, M., Sacco, D., & Williams, J. (2016). The Opportunities of eSports. eSports and the Future
of Sport. Manchester: University of Salford.
CyanEsports. (2017, January 28). How Do Esports Teams Decide Which Games to Support? Retrieved from Esports Heaven:
http://www.esportsheaven.com/articles/view/5936
EEDAR. (205). Esports Consumer Analysis Whitepaper. Carlsbad: EEDAR.
Fischer, B. (2017, March 6). Road show on for new esports league. Retrieved from SportsBusiness Daily Global Journal:
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2017/03/06/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/Blizzard.aspx
Gilliam, R. (2016, November 16). How Blizzard is making Overwatch a successful esport, and where it needs to improve.
Retrieved from Polygon: http://www.polygon.com/2016/11/16/13650584/blizzard-overwatch-blizzcon-esport
Gleason, J. (2016, March 15). Announcing Twitch Developer Success. Retrieved March 21, 2017, from
https://blog.twitch.tv/announcing-twitch-developer-success-814bd5a23dee#.3aa6hiqei
Hamari, J., & Sjöblom, M. (2016). What is eSports and why do people watch it? Tampere: University of Tampere Game
Research Lab.
Handrahan, M. (2016, November 7). Blizzard's Overwatch eSports league to emphasise financial stability. Retrieved from
gamesindustry.biz: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2016-11-07-blizzards-new-overwatch-esports-league-to-
emphasise-financial-stability
Hiltscher, D. (2013). Inside the e-Sports Ecosystem: A Business Overview. GDC Next. Los Angeles.
Kang, C. and Merced, M. (2017). Justice department sues to bock AT&T-Time Warner merger. New York Times, November 20.
King, C. (2016). The Development of eSports. eSports and the Future of Sport. Manchester: University of Salford.
Kollar, P. (2016, November 4). Overwatch League is Blizzard's ambitious new esports org, includes city-based teams. Retrieved
March 21, 2017, from http://www.polygon.com/2016/11/4/13511762/overwatch-league-is-blizzards-ambitious-new-
esports-org-includes-city
Leavitt, A. (2014). TwitchPlayedPokemon: An Analysis of the Experimental Interactive Phenomenon. GDC Next. Los Angeles.
Lewis, R., Listö, A., Larsson, A., Xu, J., & Saw, S. (2014). eSports by choice or accident? Stockholm eSports & Games
Congress. Stockholm: DreamHack.
Machinima, Inc. (2017). Machinima. (Machinima, Inc.) Retrieved March 21, 2017, from http://www.machinima.com/
Mosier, J. (2017). A major score. The Dallas Morening News, D1 & D 7.November.

Newzoo. (2015). The Global Growth of Esports: Trends, Revenues, and Audience Towards 2017. San Francisco: Newzoo.
Newzoo. (2016, July 26). The US Esports Audience 2016. Retrieved from Newzoo:
https://newzoo.com/insights/infographics/the-us-esports-audience-2016/
Newzoo Esports. (2016). 2016 Global Esports Market Report: An Overview of the Esports Market and Its Valuable Audience.
San Francisco: Newzoo.
Newzoo Esports. (2016). Why Sports & Brands Want To Be In Esports. San Francisco: Newzoo.
Newzoo Esports. (2017). 2017 Global Esports Market Report. San Francisco: Newzoo.
Newzoo Esports. (2017). Most Watched Games on Twitch - February 2017. San Francisco: Newzoo.
Plott, S., Radtke, C., Goldhaber, B., & Breslau, R. (2014). The Business of Esports (Panel). Red Bull Battlegrounds. Washington,
D.C.: Red Bull Esports.
Popper, B. (2013, September 30). Field of streams: how Twitch made video games a spectator sport. Retrieved from The Verge:
http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/30/4719766/twitch-raises-20-million-esports-market-booming
Purewal, J., & Lewin, P. (2016, December 15). Esports Predictions: Great Growth in 2016, Storm Clouds for 2017. Retrieved
from gamesindustry.biz: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2016-12-15-esports-predictions-great-growth-in-2016-
storm-clouds-for-2017
Rovell, D. (2016, September 26). 76ers acquire esports teams Dignitas and Apex. ESPN.
Schutter, R., & Tan, P. (2015). StarCraft II and GameHeart: Evolving eSports Interfaces with Modders. Game Developers
Conference. San Francisco.
Seo, Y. (2013). Electronic Sports: A new marketing landscape of the experience economy. Journal of Marketing Management,
1542-1560.
Soshnick, S. (2015, December 18). Former NBA Player Rick Fox Buys eSports Team Gravity. Bloomberg Technology.
Souza, E. (2015). The eSports Industry to Date: The Drivers Behind Current and Future Growth. eSports Conference. San
Francisco.
Turner. (2017). ELEAGUE. (Turner) Retrieved March 21, 2017, from http://www.eleague.com/#ifuweryFIgqI
Twitch. (2014, March 1). TPP Victory! The Thundershock Heard Around the World. Retrieved March 21, 2017, from
https://blog.twitch.tv/tpp-victory-the-thundershock-heard-around-the-world-3128a5b1cdf5#.junj3ydxn
Valve Corporation. (2013). Dota 2. Bellevue: Valve Corporation.
van den Heuvel, P. (2017, February 28). Esports Revenues Deep Dive: The Esports Economy is Expanding Rapidly but ROI is
Still Limited. Retrieved from Newzoo: https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/esports-revenues-deep-dive-the-esports-
economy-is-expanding-rapidly-but-roi-is-still-limited-for-most-individual-companies/
van Dreunen, J. (2015). Esports: The Market Brief 2015. New York: SuperData Research.
What Motivates Esports Fans? 20

Van Dusen, B. (2016). Built for Broadcasting: The Coming Era of Game Design for Interactive Live Video Communities. Game
Developers Conference. San Francisco.
Weiss, T. (2011). Fulfilling the Needs of eSports Consumers: A Uses and Gratifications Perspective. 24th Bled eConference, (pp.
572-580). Bled.
Wolmarans, K. (2016, September 22). Dota 2 vs. League of Legends: Updating the numbers. Retrieved March 21, 2017, from
http://www.criticalhit.net/gaming/dota-2-vs-league-legends-updating-numbers/
What Motivates Esports Fans? 21
What Motivates Esports Fans? 22

Table 2
What Motivates Esports Fans? 23
What Motivates Esports Fans? 24

Table 4

Mean Time Playing Overwatch for

Spectacle Fans

Hours of Overwatch
content watched per Means
week
Less than 1 14.18
1 to 3 17.19
3.5 to 6 17.39
6.5 to 10 17.32
More than 10 17.73
χ2 359.92
p < .001

Means
6.5 to 10 11.58
More than 10 12.15
χ2 277.44
p < .001
What Motivates Esports Fans? 25