During his appearance at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Hero Esports Co-founder and CEO Danny Tang emphasized that esports has now become a mainstream platform for brands, investors, and media companies.
Danny took the stage on June 25 at LIONS Sport, a sports-focused program within Cannes Lions. He delivered a keynote address and later participated in a panel discussion alongside ESL FACEIT Group CEO Niccolò Maisto and esports psychologist Tongyu Liu, focusing on the future of the esports industry.
Hero Esports later shared on WeChat that Danny’s remarks highlighted how esports is reshaping fan engagement and the attention economy, particularly emphasizing audience growth, commercialization, and the industry’s impact on popular culture.
“Currently, 640 million people worldwide watch esports events. That is only the visible audience,” Danny stated, as reported by the company. “In addition, 1.4 billion people consume gaming content on social media platforms, and 3.6 billion people play video games every day. Esports not only reaches its fans but also the mainstream of global culture.”
His appearance coincided with the publication of The Esports Generation: Who They Are, and Why They Spend, a whitepaper jointly released by Niko Partners, Hero Esports, and ESL FACEIT Group. Based on a survey of 8,000 Gen Z esports enthusiasts in May 2026, the report suggests that the global Gen Z esports audience could reach up to 400 million individuals.
The whitepaper also positions esports as an increasingly attractive platform for brand partnerships, estimating the global esports audience at around 640 million fans and the industry’s annual revenue at approximately $3 billion from various sources like broadcast, sponsorships, media rights, and merchandise.
Danny also highlighted the success of the 2025 King Pro League Grand Finals, organized by Hero Esports at Beijing’s National Stadium, known as the Bird’s Nest. The event attracted 62,196 live attendees, setting a Guinness World Record as the largest esports match audience in history.
During the Cannes presentation, Danny premiered a trailer for Bird’s Nest: The Peak of Esports, a documentary showcasing the production of the 2025 KPL Grand Finals. Hero Esports intends for such content to extend the value of esports beyond tournament weekends into entertainment formats with longevity.
This strategy addresses the challenge of sustaining revenue for esports operators beyond live events, potentially through documentaries, series, and other entertainment formats. This approach aims to capitalize on the value of esports IP over an extended period.
For Hero Esports, the Cannes appearance served as a statement about the industry and a pitch for business development, positioning esports not only as live competition but as a broader media and entertainment category appealing to young audiences, social distribution, and brand engagement.
The whitepaper provides examples supporting this argument, such as Hisense’s partnership with the KPL Grand Finals, generating significant social media engagement and positioning KPL alongside prestigious sports marketing platforms like the FIFA World Cup.
The report and Danny also challenge traditional assumptions about esports audiences, highlighting the significant presence of female fans in live events and their engagement with esports content, particularly in mature markets like China.
Danny concluded by asserting that esports is gaining cultural and institutional legitimacy, with increasing participation and recognition globally.
“Esports is no longer just a trend. It has become part of cultural life,” Danny emphasized.
The article raises the question of whether esports companies can translate their massive scale into sustainable revenue streams, suggesting that packaging esports as a youth-culture platform for global brands could be a viable strategy.