TikTok Live Gains Momentum in Esports Broadcasting Scene

Esports continues to flourish globally, with significant trends reshaping the industry. Co-streaming has gained popularity, expanding event audiences, while Western esports organizations explore Southeast Asia’s thriving mobile gaming market. New streaming platforms have emerged, prompting event organizers to innovate in attracting and growing their viewership.

TikTok has quietly but rapidly become a major player in esports streaming. By late 2024, it stands as a strong competitor to giants like Twitch and YouTube. TikTok’s rise in esports has been meteoric, with exciting potential for the future.

TikTok Live entered the live streaming arena in 2020 and has quickly innovated to rival industry leaders. The platform has implemented features to enhance both viewer and creator experiences. These include live events for scheduling and promoting streams, and TikTok Live Studio, a desktop application offering an alternative to OBS Studio. Powerful monetization tools have also been introduced, making earning from streams more accessible.

A standout feature of TikTok Live is its interactive broadcasts, which immerse viewers in the action by allowing them to influence gameplay in real-time. Virtual gifts, polls, and challenges enable fans to shape in-game events or guide streamer decisions, creating an immersive and collaborative experience. Gamified elements like mini-games and voting on game choices transform passive viewers into active participants, redefining audience interaction with gaming content.

TikTok Live has significantly strengthened its presence in the gaming sector through strategic partnerships with major industry events. In August 2024, TikTok became the official partner of Gamescom 2024, one of the world’s largest video game conferences held in Cologne, Germany. In July 2024, TikTok was named the official entertainment partner for the inaugural Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The LIVE section underwent a redesign in 2024, introducing a dedicated esports section separate from general gaming content. This change helps differentiate the standard gaming audience from the more engaged esports community. The platform now features an improved content recommendation system, similar to YouTube’s, facilitating more effective audience growth for streams.

Gaming has become an essential part of TikTok Live, with the platform focusing on enhancing the experience for all actors in the gaming ecosystem: content creators, viewers, brands, and publishers. ByteDance, TikTok’s developer, sees enormous potential in this space, backed by a massive and loyal gaming audience that rarely migrates to competing platforms for similar content.

As multistreaming gains traction, TikTok Live is attracting a growing wave of Western streamers. Big names like Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, Dylan “CaseOh” Baker, and hundreds of other recognized creators from rival platforms are migrating to TikTok in search of new audiences. Major tournament organizers are following suit, recognizing the platform’s potential to connect with new viewers.

Esports streams arrived on TikTok almost immediately after the launch of its livestreaming feature. By October 2020, thousands of viewers were tuning into the MPL PH Season 6, the largest regional tournament for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) in the Philippines. At the end of 2020, the total esports audience on TikTok barely reached a few tens of thousands of hours. In the following years, that figure exploded, reaching almost 200 million hours viewed in 2024.

Mobile esports games were natural pioneers in adopting TikTok Live. MLBB led the way, along with other popular titles like Free Fire, Arena of Valor, Brawl Stars, and more. Desktop games are also keeping pace. In 2020, TikTok first streamed esports events for Dota 2 and PUBG: Battlegrounds, with several other major titles quickly joining.

TikTok hosts a wide range of esports tournaments, but audience sizes can vary considerably. Currently, TikTok Live remains primarily focused on mobile game broadcasts. At the end of the year, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang led the rankings, representing an impressive 65% of all esports viewing time on the platform. PUBG Mobile and Arena of Valor completed the podium, each with just over 10% of total viewing time.

The desktop game with the largest audience on TikTok is League of Legends, representing slightly less than 5% of total viewing time, while PUBG: Battlegrounds ranks sixth. Desktop games are currently not as popular among TikTok viewers, but this trend is likely to change. TikTok is expected to gradually become a more influential platform for these titles in the future.

The rise of mobile esports content on TikTok is shaping the platform’s audience, with nearly half of viewers coming from Indonesia, where games like MLBB and PUBG Mobile are hugely popular. In 2024, the largest countries in Southeast Asia will account for over 90% of total esports viewing time on TikTok. English-language broadcasts, catering to a more diverse audience, currently represent just over 4% but are expected to grow as TikTok continues to expand its global reach.

Turkey, Spain, the Middle East, and Brazil are also emerging as significant markets for esports content on TikTok. As the platform continues to evolve and attract a wider range of content creators and viewers, it is likely to see further growth and diversification in its esports offerings and audience demographics.

TikTok’s rapid ascent in the esports streaming space has been driven by several factors:

1. User-friendly interface
2. Innovative features
3. Strategic partnerships
4. Focus on mobile gaming
5. Global reach

These elements have combined to create a unique and engaging platform for esports content, attracting both established streamers and new talent.

The future of esports on TikTok looks promising, with potential developments including:

• Increased integration of AR and VR technologies
• Expansion into more desktop game titles
• Enhanced interactive features for viewers
• Deeper partnerships with major esports leagues and tournaments
• Improved monetization options for content creators

As TikTok continues to invest in its gaming and esports offerings, it is poised to become an even more significant player in the global esports ecosystem. The platform’s ability to attract younger audiences and its focus on short-form, engaging content make it well-suited to the fast-paced world of competitive gaming.