The analysis site Esports Charts has analysed the data from 2021 and compiled a ranking of the most watched eSports games of the past year. Which games were the most popular?
The year 2021 was also marked by the Corona pandemic. Accordingly, live eSports events with spectators were still not a matter of course and many tournaments took place exclusively online. However, these were again able to captivate millions of people in front of their screens.
The statistics analysts at Esports Charts have analysed livestreams of over 100 eSports disciplines and compiled a ranking. Which games were able to achieve the greatest average viewing time and the highest viewer peaks in the past year?
League of Legends remains the industry leader
Let’s face it, League of Legends was once again the most watched eSports game last year. 664 million hours and over four million concurrent viewers at Worlds are again impressive figures.
League of Legends is thus once again the king of eSports. The popularity of the title continues to grow: according to Esports Charts, the MOBA from Riot Games has seen an increase of 13 percent in viewers. An end to this growth is not in sight.
League of Legends is already outperforming its competition. In second place in the rankings is the latest incarnation of an eSports progenitor, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. However, there is a significant gap between the competitive shooter and industry leader LoL: CSGO has around 411 million watched hours on the clock, with the viewership peak at 2.7 million.
Mobile gaming is establishing itself in eSports
A certain surprise is that two smartphone titles are represented in the top list. First up is PUBG Mobile in fifth place – with over 216 million hours and a peak audience of 3.8 million. In third place again is the MOBA Mobile Legends – with 387 million hours and just under 3.2 million concurrent viewers.
The latter is thus even above a classic like Dota 2, which lands in fourth place with around 348 million hours and a peak of 2.7 million. A game like Valorant, which is currently on the upswing, even only makes it to sixth place, behind the mobile games mentioned.
Esports Charts thus emphasises the great popularity of these titles in regions such as Southeast Asia and Latin America. The success is mainly due to the large number of regional tournaments. Events of this kind “regularly attract hundreds of thousands of spectators in many countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America”.
While mobile gaming makes up a large part of the gaming industry, its market share in Europe is still relatively small. Elsewhere, however, games like PUBG Mobile and Mobile Legends are now at the forefront of the medium.
