Abstract

The aim of this project is to assess the variables that impact the success of a video game taken as a function of prizepool earnings awarded in tournaments. With the rise of streaming platforms like Twitch the reach for esports and online gaming has dramatically increased. After analyzing two datasets found on Kaggle, and performing linear regression on a newly created dataset, no relationship between viewership and earnings can be established. Irrespective of this, the increasing trend of earnings and viewership can be observed in both the datasets and online publications and statistics. This indicates the possibility of an existing relationship however more data is needed on game earnings; where earnings are not only comprised of prizepool money but also related twitch stream revenue, ad revenue, and sponsorships. Having said that, if adequate funding were to be provided this data could be gathered and used to create a more accurate predictive algorithm. This project aims to gather funding from the Entertainment Software Association Foundation and use it to hire a Market Research Firm to fuel the data collection and analysis processes and enable the creation of a predictive algorithm on the success of a game. This tool is meant to aid streamer planning and decision making, sponsorship and investment decisions, industry insights and benchmarking, and risk assessment and mitigation.

Publication Date

6-2023

Document Type

Master's Project

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Professional Studies (MS)

Department, Program, or Center

Graduate Programs & Research

Advisor

Ioannis Karamitsos

Campus

RIT Dubai

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