Monetization Strategies of Esports Organizations
Chaudry, Hasan (2025)
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025122038746
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025122038746
Tiivistelmä
The purpose of the study was to examine how esports organizations generate revenue and maintain financial sustainability in a rapidly growing but still developing industry. The research focused on identifying the main revenue streams, the strategies used to maximise income, the challenges in monetisation, and future oppor-tunities for esports organizations.
The study was carried out as a qualitative research project. Data were collected through semi-structured in-terviews with three esports professionals working in the Finnish esports ecosystem. The participants repre-sented different organizational roles, including team and venue management as well as sponsorship and part-nership development. The interview data were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis, which made it possible to identify recurring themes related to revenue generation and business practices.
The findings showed that sponsorships and brand partnerships formed the main source of income for esports organizations, supported by tournament prize money, merchandise sales, digital content production, and, in one case, venue rental activities. However, the results also indicated that heavy dependence on sponsorships and unstable competitive success made long-term financial planning difficult, especially in a small market such as Finland. Future opportunities were identified in developing stronger data-driven sponsor reporting, grass-roots player development, local and international events, and multimedia content strategies.
The study concluded that esports organizations needed to diversify their revenue streams, strengthen their business capabilities, and communicate their value more clearly to non-endemic partners in order to achieve more sustainable growth.
The study was carried out as a qualitative research project. Data were collected through semi-structured in-terviews with three esports professionals working in the Finnish esports ecosystem. The participants repre-sented different organizational roles, including team and venue management as well as sponsorship and part-nership development. The interview data were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis, which made it possible to identify recurring themes related to revenue generation and business practices.
The findings showed that sponsorships and brand partnerships formed the main source of income for esports organizations, supported by tournament prize money, merchandise sales, digital content production, and, in one case, venue rental activities. However, the results also indicated that heavy dependence on sponsorships and unstable competitive success made long-term financial planning difficult, especially in a small market such as Finland. Future opportunities were identified in developing stronger data-driven sponsor reporting, grass-roots player development, local and international events, and multimedia content strategies.
The study concluded that esports organizations needed to diversify their revenue streams, strengthen their business capabilities, and communicate their value more clearly to non-endemic partners in order to achieve more sustainable growth.