The world of esports is changing rapidly. More and more females are getting in the action. With all-female leagues and teams becoming more common, it’s not surprising. A market research team in the UK, Kids Insight, put together a report on how many kids are actually interested in getting involved with esports. They released a portion of their findings this week, and it’s quite interesting. In the UK at least, the interest in getting involved in esports is reportedly higher in girls aged 13-18 than it is in boys.
Key findings in the UK via Kids Insight
15% of all girls now watch Esports
More 13 to 15-year-old girls take part in Esports than boys of the same age group
More 13 to 15-year-old girls watch Esports live than boys of the same age group
84% of teen girls are now spending some of their time gaming compared to 75% during the same period last year
Step in the right direction
This is encouraging news since in the past, esports, console, and PC gaming was mostly attracting male gamers. Another noteworthy thing that came out of this report is the majority of the gamers in the UK prefer console gaming over PC. The most-played games on the list will come as no surprise. Players are more engaged in Dota 2, LoL, and CSGO. They also prefer watching Overwatch, FIFA, and Call of Duty on their favorite streaming site of choice.
Fortnite has not fully broken into the esports scene in the UK
What I found extremely interesting is that according to Kids Insight, Fortnite – which is a huge huge deal here in North America and has a very large esports scene – is not like that in the UK. I wondered if it’s because of other games that it’s not doing as well over there or if there’s another reason. Maybe it just hasn’t reached the right target demographic? They did say there is a large difference between those who play for fun and those who actually want to compete. It is good to know that young people, especially females, are more engaged in esports.
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