North Texas is home to many things, including a large defense industry, numerous Fortune 500s and, more recently, a burgeoning esports marketplace. Of the many topics of discussion at the Venture Dallas summit last week was insight into the massive and - as long as kids keep playing video games – ever growing phenomenon.
And while the Metroplex may boast an impressive gaming industry, including Grapevine-based video game retail company GameStop, its clout may not be confined to the borders of either state or country.
“With these generations they don’t put video games away; it’s here to stay and it’s going to be a part of the future as they grow older – they’ll still play,” said Randy Chappel, managing director at Irving-based Hersh Family Investments (HFI). “And like any other human endeavor, when we like stuff we get competitive.”
According to Chappel, DFW is quickly becoming one of the leaders in esports talent, in part due to investments from HFI, which has invested tens of millions into local team Dallas Fuel – a team competitive at an international level.
By 2020, competitive video game advertising revenue will top more than $214 million, according to a report by Reuters. The industry has more than 450 million fans worldwide, with a young demographic (62 percent of viewers are between 18 to 34 years old), and is growing by nearly 15 percent a year, Chappel added.
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“There’s a lot of gaming and technology history here. There’s millions of gamers here,” he said.
Individual investors and major corporations, including Comcast are getting in on the action, and part of the Hersh Family Investments fund has been instrumental in creating an esports marketplace in the region. In April, the organization’s teams participated in the Dallas Fuel’s Bud Light Homestand Weekend, which drew more than 4,500 attendees to the Allen Event Center to watch the home team face-off against rivals the Houston Outlaws in a first-person shooter called “Overwatch,” created by California-based Blizzard Entertainment.
The Hersh Interactive Group, the subsidiary of the investments firm, acquired Envy in 2017 for about $35 million. Despite the images of young video gamers that may come to mind, Dallas Fuel is run like any other athletic organization, with players receiving training, workout instruction and nutritionists. Hersh has also invested in a “Call of Duty” team, which will be announced within the year.
In Chappel's talk at Venture Dallas, he encouraged businesses and investors to pay attention. He said that North Texas is on track to have one of the best esports markets in the world, citing the packed schedule of local teams, the number of international teams that travel to the region to face-off, as well as the history of technology and gaming in the area (Frisco is home to the National Video Game Museum).
“I talk to people a lot about esports, and a lot of times they say they weren’t really aware of this, but there’s a whole world of this out there.” Chappel said. “Once you kind of hear about it and start to think about it, you’re not going to be able to stop seeing it.”
