What Is Going To Happen In The Esports Industry In 2017?

As Theresa May outlined her plans for the UK to hard exit Europe, the Mobile Games Forum kicked off in London today with a solid international line up from the likes of Rovio, Bandai Namco, Twitch, King and a huge delegation from Korea to name a few. Revenue, monetization and retention were unsurprisingly key themes of the day but surprisingly esports received more interest than VR. Motti Colman, Optimove's Director of New Business believes companies need to fix missed opportunities; "Traditionally, games companies look at three segments; new, active and churn. Churn is often [deprioritised] but 18% of first-time churners, on average, can be reactivated which means multi-time churners - thanks to the zig-zag phenomenon (where active users leave and then come back repeatedly) - can be identified and incentivised differently. James Dean, MD of ESL UK believes beyond audience diversification we will see smarter business plays from brand and developers; "Rather than just a pure marketing play, we will see brands create a dedicated strategy and retain control over their revenue models rather than create simple strategies and badging exercises.