Amateur vs Pro Gamers

In 2020, 40% of the world's population regularly plays online, according to a study by DFC Intelligence - a US research and consulting firm working in the digital entertainment industry. That's 3.1 billion people out of a global population of 8 billion. These phenomenal figures also underline a variety of practices: on consoles or PC, on mobile or tablet, alone or online, many people around the world are fans.

What are the different esports Consumer Profiles?

From there to being a true pro gamer, there is still some margin. The France Esport 2020 Barometer proposes to distinguish several categories of esport consumers, whether they are watching or practicing by themselves:

• "General public gamers" play regularly without entering any ranking nor competitions: they are like weekend footballers;
• "Leisure gamers" are ranked but do not actively compete;
• last step before the professionals, "intensive gamers" are ranked and take part in open competitions. This last category alone represents 1.2 million people in France. Their typical profile? An upper-class man aged between 15 and 34. Only some of them will be able to compete at a high level and live off their passion.

Pro Gamer: how to become a Professional Video Games Player?

Because if starting a career as a pro gamer is quite attractive, there are many more called than chosen. First as in all sports, you must train intensively: between 30 and 50 hours a week!

You will also have to develop a competitive spirit, great concentration and adaptation skills as well as learn to put up with stress through a healthy lifestyle.

Finally, you should be able to manage your image and your fan base – communities are usually very active on social medias - but also a certain public notoriety as you progress. For those who succeed and reach the top levels, it can then become lucrative. N0tail, real name Johan Sundstein, is the high-earning gamer of all time: at only 26, the Swedish “Dota 2” specialist won 6.89 million US dollars in a total of 108 tournaments (source: esportearning .com and statistica.com). Enough to make more and more people's eyes shine.