Image courtesy of Pexels.

Competitive gaming is quickly becoming a popular hobby for people across various age and interest groups. What was once seen as something kids did in their parent’s basement has now grown into a billion dollar industry.

Global revenues for esports is expected to reach 3.2 billion dollars by 2022. This proves that esports has become more mainstream than ever before -- and it doesn’t show signs of slowing down.

The audience for esports includes both men and women ranging from ages 13 and up. Along with the opportunity for revenue, more and more audiences are joining the world of esports. Gradual increases each year are what keeps this industry growing

As the industry continues to grow, so does the number of companies entering the market. While there are many big names out there, in this article we’ll focus on a few of the smaller guys. We’ll take a look at 20 esports startups that you’ll want to keep your eye on.

Here’s a quick look at the companies we’ll cover:

1. Mobalytics
2. G-Loot
3. PlayVS
4. 100 Thieves
5. Astralis
6. Challengermode
7. Talon Esports
8. Envy Gaming
9. G2 Esports
10. EVOS Esports
11. Boom.TV
12. GRID Esports
13. Theta,TV
14. Bayes Holding
15. Maestro
16. Rec Room
17. Cloud9
18. Immortals
19. Vindex
20. Mobile Premier League

The Esports Startups You’ll Want to Watch

As more startups come into the esports industry, there are a few you’ll want to keep your eye on. The faster the industry grows, the more you’ll see new companies making their way up the totem pole and becoming successful.

The following startups provide gamers, content developers, and providers with the resources they need to find the games and tournaments they want and more. Each has their own unique offering and focus area, but all of them are companies that you’ll want to follow in the coming years.

For each start up we cover here, we’ll provide you with a short overview of what their platform does, a few highlights, and information around revenue, employee counts and more.

So what are we waiting for -- let’s dive in!

1. Mobalytics

Mobalytics is a personal gaming assistant that is designed to help gamers master their favorite games. With the help of Mobalytics, players can master the meta every patch, identify and fix weaknesses, and get more victories in order to climb faster.

Mobalytics features include:

• Game optimization through key insights and player scouting
• In-game overlays that provide important insights at the right time
• Stats to determine how to improve skills
  

Annual Revenue: $7.7 million per year

Number of Employees: 63

Location: Santa Monica, California

Founded: 2016

2. G-Loot

Gamers run G-Loot while they play their favorite supported games, and the program listens for certain game events to help players calculate their stats and compete in challenges. This startup helps players improve their skills and provides feedback in-game.

G-Loot features include:

• Lightweight overlay that doesn’t interfere with the gaming experience
• Join challenges instantly from within the game
• See gaming stats without having to link various game accounts and IDs
  

Annual Revenue: $23.6 million per year

Number of Employees: 116

Location: Stockholm, Sweden

Founded: 2012

3. PlayVS

PlayVS is a platform for anyone who wants to play esports and build a community. It’s the perfect platform for amateurs and has high school, college, and youth leagues. There are two seasons of league play that are followed by playoffs and end with a champion crowned.

PlayVS leagues include:

• High school leagues allow students to represent their school against students across the United States and Canada
• College leagues and tournaments are also available across the United States and Canada
• Youth leagues allow players to play with friends down the street, across town, or in another state

Annual Revenue: $22.6 million per year

Number of Employees: 128

Location: Santa Monica, California

Founded: 2017

4. 100 Thieves

100 Thieves is a lifestyle brand and gaming organization that manages a network of professional esports teams. The 100 Thieves teams have won major championships in Call of Duty and have made the League of Legends and Fortnite World Championships.

Other 100 Thieves successes:

• Launched the top gaming podcasts on iTunes
• Sells branded apparel
• Supported by major partners
  

Annual Revenue: $16 million per year

Number of Employees: 131

Location: Culver City, California

Founded: 2017

5. Astralis

Astralis is a leading esports organization that has three teams under the brand. The group advocates for a positive, balanced lifestyle and has proved to be a groundbreaking organization in the esports industry.

Astralis has three teams that participate in the following games:

• Counter-Strike
• League of Legends
• FIFA
  

Annual Revenue: $6.24 million per year

Number of Employees: 32

Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Founded: 2019

6. Challengermode

Challengermode is a platform that hosts esport competitions that gamers can participate in. It allows players to join tournaments, participate in community discussions and connect with coaches.

Challengermode allows players to play by:

• Trending tournaments
• Browse popular games
• Join trending spaces
• Popular ladders
  

Annual Revenue: $6.53 million per year

Number of Employees: 45

Location: Stockholm, Sweden

Founded: 2014

7. Talon Esports

Talon Esports is an organization that has teams competing in leagues across various games. It’s one of the fastest-growing teams in Asia-Pacific and has millions of fans globally.

Talon Esports has teams competing in games such as:

• League of Legends
• Arena of Valor
• Overwatch
  

Annual Revenue: <$5 million per year

Number of Employees: 24

Location: Hong Kong

Founded: 2016

8. Envy Gaming

Envy Gaming owns and operates the global esports franchise Team Envy. A team of gamers who participates in a number of different games and leagues and who was named the 2020 Call of Duty League Champions.

Envy Gaming participates in leagues for games including:

• Overwatch
• Call of Duty
• Flashpoint

Annual Revenue: $12 million per year

Number of Employees: 70

Location: Dallas, Texas

Founded: 2007

9. G2 Esports

G2 Esports brings together some of the best competitive players in the world and connects with millions of fans every month. The staff elevates the company to the highest level of performance in all aspects of business in esports.

G2 Esports highlighted achievements:

• 8 teams
• 100+ first place wins
• 5 million rewards
• 40 million fans worldwide
  

Annual Revenue: $21.4 million per year

Number of Employees: 106

Location: Berlin, Germany

Founded: 2015

10. EVOS Esports

EVOS Esports is an organization that is developing an online sports platform in Singapore and houses tournaments for aspiring gamers. Players can keep an eye on upcoming matches and see past results for their favorite teams.

A few of VOS Esports team achievements include:

• MPL ID Season 7
• MPL MY/SG Season 4
• WSL Season 2

Annual Revenue: $15 million per year

Number of Employees: 11-50

Location: Singapore

Founded: 2016

11. Boom.TV

Boom.TV helps creators, clubs, and communities to produce and share their esports content. Serving communities including content creators, college and high school programs, and city leagues.

Boom.TV has options for every type of gamer including:

• Players
• Viewers
• Organizers
  

Annual Revenue: $4 million per year

Number of Employees: 23

Location: San Mateo, California

Founded: 2015

12. GRID Esports

GRID Esports unlocks the value of official data assets and establishes an ecosystem that facilitates sustainability and growth. With the help of it’s predictive modeling feature, it can quickly process and predict future success across various matches and tournaments.

GRID Esports allows customers to:

• Publish data
• Consume data
• Visualize data
  

Annual Revenue: $1 million per year

Number of Employees: 43

Location: Berlin, Germany

Founded: 2018

13. Theta.tv

Theta.tv is a next generation esports platform that features live streaming content from top games 24/7. By watching and interacting with top streamers, players can earn Theta tokens, open themed crates, and wine gaming gear.

Gamers can stream games such as:

• Fortnite
• League of Legends
• CSGO
  

Annual Revenue: $2 million per year

Number of Employees: 11-50

Location: San Jose, California

Founded: 2015

14. Bayes Holding

Bayes Holding is a non-operative holding company that specializes in gaming and esports data. With multiple site options, one of the many Bayes Holding companies will meet the needs of gamers and service providers.

Bayes Holdings has multiple companies, including:

• Bayes Esports: made for data right holders, consumers, and service providers
• Shadow Esports: made for PRO teams and tournament providers
  

Annual Revenue: $8 million per year

Number of Employees: 19

Location: Berlin, Germany

Founded: 2014

15. Maestro

Maestro is an interactive video platform designed for creators that are looking to own, engage, and monetize audiences. This platform will allow for content creators to grow their brand and find new ways to connect with their target audience.

With Maestro you can:

• Build deeper fan connections
• Customize to your brand
• Get to know your audiences
  

Annual Revenue: $8 million per year

Number of Employees: 55

Location: Culver City, California

Founded: 2015

16. Rec Room

Rec Room is a place for people to build and play games together with friends both local and across the world. Gammers can explore other play-created rooms or build something entirely new to share.

With Rec Room you can do things like:

• Customize your Rec Room avatar
• Discover challenging and fun games
• Join in on the community to meet new people
  

Annual Revenue: $14 million per year

Number of Employees: 131

Location: Seattle, Washington

Founded: 2016

17. Cloud9

Cloud9 is a recognizable esports organization that has championships industry-wide, impressive viewership hours, and extensive benefit pages for players. With teams across various gaming arenas, Cloud9 has something for everyone.

Cloud9 has professional teams in:

• Halo
• Fortnite
• World of Warcraft
  

Annual Revenue: $29.3 million per year

Number of Employees: 183

Location: Santa Monica, California

Founded: 2013

18. Immortals

Immortals is a US-based esports and gaming organization that competes across various premier esports titles. This platform focuses on building lasting connections between gamers and the broader gaming community.

Immortals participates in many esports titles, including:

• League of Legends
• VALORANT
• Overwatch
  

Annual Revenue: $8.8 million per year

Number of Employees: 55

Location: Los Angeles, California

Founded: 2015

19. Vindex

Vindex is helping to power the future of esports by providing a suite of innovative solutions to help drive the best experiences for game publishers, esports leagues, corporate sponsors, and fans. With various solutions available, there’s a service for you no matter how you’re involved in the industry.

Vindex provides multiple solutions and experiences including:

• Let’s Play for esports and gaming communities
• Esports Engine consultative services for game publishers, leagues, brands, and sponsors
• Belong Gaming Arenas for developing a pipeline for talented players
  

Annual Revenue: $4.1 million per year

Number of Employees: 180

Location: New York

Founded: 2019

20. Mobile Premier League

Mobile Premier League is a platform that allows you to play all the mobile games you love but for some extra cash. With a variety of tournaments and battles, this gaming platform will keep players engaged and entertained for hours.

Mobile Premier League has games across various interests, including:

• Card skills
• Sports games
• Brain games
  
  

Annual Revenue: $1.5-2 billion per year

Number of Employees: 800

Location: Bengaluru, India

Founded: 2018

Keep Following These Esports Startups

With no slow down in sight for the esports industry , you’ll want to keep an eye on these startups. By offering their customers with unique services and capabilities, they each target different audiences and have their own niches.

You can expect to see big things coming in the esports industry in the coming years. Stay ahead of the top talent and investment opportunities by following these growing companies and their competitors.