China's mobile esports revenues to approach $7bn in 2017
Revenues already tripled in 2016, expected to triple again
The money generated by mobile esports titles in China is predicted to be close to $7bn by the end of the year.
Pocket Gamer reports that figures from iResearch show revenues from this sector tripled to $1.9bn in 2016. The research firm clarified that this is money generated by the games themselves, as revenues generated from tournaments, merchandise and other channels is relatively small in China.
This growth is expected to continue in 2017 with iResearch predicting a final figure of $6.78bn by year's end.
Part of this expansion will be attributed to the expected growth in the number of people engaged in esports titles. In 2016, 118.5m Chinese gamers were playing mobile esports titles, with a rise to 285.3m forecasted for this year.
Again, it's worth clarifying how iResearch defines these terms. In this case, an esports gamer is deemed as someone who "[watches or participates] in a core mobile esports competition - including both professional and non-professional competitions - for one or more times in the recent half year".