Vietnam boasts 18 million esports players

The statistic was published in the first edition of Vietnamese Esports 2021, released by Vietnam Recreational and Electronic Sports Association (VIRESA) on June 10.

According to the white book, esports in Vietnam thrived in 2020 and became a form of entertainment due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Specifically, 80 percent of players said they spent more time on esports during the social distancing period, with 52.5 percent playing games daily at an average time of 2 hours 55 minutes.

Broadcasting platforms also recorded a spike in esports content. Typically, views on Facebook Gaming increased by 81.37 percent during the outbreak, while engagement and coverage also increased by 50 percent and 79.6 percent, respectively.

The sudden increase in the number of viewers and consumption of digital content in the past year has also benefited from the pandemic. Specifically, the views on YouTube Vietnam of some major tournaments like Arena World Championship 2020 reached 109 million, twice as high as in 2019.

2020 is also the year that esports became an official discipline at the 31st SEA Games, scheduled to take place in Vietnam later this year.