Gaming is massive in Japan, with some of the top publishers and console makers calling the country their home. When discussing Japan and live streaming, people tend to think of the popularity of RPGs, mobile games, and VTubers first. It stands to reason, however, that esports would also perform strongly in the region. In fact, a 2023 report by Statista estimates that esports revenue in Japan will reach $162M in 2024.
In Stream Hatchet’s Japanese Streaming Report for Q1 2024, we look at the viewership of esports in Japan, including the most popular games among Japanese esports fans to determine the viability of growth for competitive gaming in the region. For a look at the full Japanese Streaming Report including overall streaming viewership, top games by Japanese publishers, and top Japanese streamers, click below:
Japanese Esports Viewership Continues to Grow Despite Fewer Events
Over the past six years, esports viewership has seen consistent growth in Japan, even throughout COVID. In fact, following the lifting of social distancing restrictions at the end of 2021, esports viewership on Japanese channels skyrocketed up 234% to 15.6M hours watched for Q1 of 2022. In Q1 2024, esports viewership in Japan grew by 16% up to 28.1M hours watched. This growth is impressive considering there were actually eight fewer events covered compared to the previous year. The lack of effect from those eight missing events makes more sense when looking at which events are really bringing in viewership in the region.
VALORANT Dominates Japanese Esports Viewership
The top esports being watched among Japanese audiences is decisive: VALORANT is by far the most popular game on the competitive scene for Japan with 19.7M hours watched in Q1 of 2024. Most of this viewership can be attributed to two specific events: The 2024 VALORANT Champions Tour: Pacific Kickoff which brought in 8.3M hours watched, and the 2024 VALORANT Challengers Japan Split 1 which generated 7.5M hours watched.
This is surprising given that the typical gaming audience in Japan tends to obsess more over MOBAs and fighting games. As far as MOBAs, League of Legends brought in a respectable 3M hours watched for Q1 of 2024 – being less popular in Japan than in other Asian countries such as South Korea or China. Fighting games still hold a dear spot in Japanese fans’ hearts, with Street Fighter 6 pulling in 874K hours watched primarily from Junichi Kato’s Hyper Game Tournament. Note, however, that EVO Japan (which took place in April) no doubt will have boosted this viewership significantly.
For a region that hosts many of the top game publishers and the most innovative technology in the gaming space, the esports space seems underutilized. Obviously, the smaller population size compared to, say, China or the U.S. is a factor, but publishers might do well to look to the region as a fertile breeding ground for new esports tournaments.
To find out more about the live-streaming landscape in Japan, check out the full Japanese Streaming report for Q1 2024 here:
