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STUDENT ASSESSMENT FORM
By submitting this assignment, I confirm that I have not sourced or used any information from any online
‘essay’ provider nor any other third party not acknowledged in my assignment.
Student Registration Number: 3361482 (Stirling) / 10248710 (SIM) Module MKTU9ES
Code: (Spring 2024)
Assessment Due Date: ____15 April 2024______________________
Tutor’s Name: Dr Dimitrios Kolyperas (Stirling) / Mr Nicholas Aaron Khoo (SIM)
Grade Descriptors
0-29%
100%
39%
49%
59%
69%
79%
30-
40-
50-
60-
70-
80-
Criteria
1. Introduction, structure, logical layout and focus on topic
2. Literature review quality, range of literature used,
intellectual engagement, critical collection and analysis of
material, effective use of figures and tables
3. Understanding the esport ecosystem and competitive
environment
4. Data collection analysis, feedback to practice and
current theory, conclusions and outcomes
5. Level of attainment of intended learning outcomes,
critical review and utilization of marketing concepts
6. Implications and recommendations analysis, practical
and theoretical discussion
7. Presentation, clarity of expression, cohesion of
arguments
General Comments
Mark
Penalty for Late Submission
FINAL MARK
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end of semester.
Work which is submitted for assessment must be your own work. All students should note that the University has a formal policy on plagiarism
which can be found at http://www.quality.stir.ac.uk/ac-policy/assessment.php
“Analyse the ecosystem of an esports
organization and recommend ways to
optimise its business activities.”
ID: 3361482 (Stirling) / 10248710 (SIM)
Module Code: MKTU9ES (Spring 2024)
Lecturer(s): Dr Dimitrios Kolyperas (Stirling) / Mr Nicholas Aaron
Khoo (SIM)
Submission Date: 15 April 2024
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Word Count: 2000 words
Executive Summary
Competitive sports have recently faced with a competition by esports. Gaming on digital
platforms is now part and parcel of society and has been growing rapidly over the last few
years. Games such as League of Legends (Lol), Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) and
many others have been platforms of competition between players and teams in front of large
audiences (Block, S. and Haack, F., 2021).
In this report, League of Legends, a widely known MOBA game, will be analysed of its esports
ecosystem through various frameworks such as Porter’s 5 forces, SWOT analysis and the 5 P’s
of marketing mix. Through the analysis, ways to optimise its esports business activities would
be recommended.
Through the framework of Porter’s 5 forces, it has been concluded that League of Legends has
more pros than cons to implementing future strategies to enhance the esports ecosystem.
Firstly, the bargaining power of suppliers of the esports of League of Legends is high due to
Riot being both the game developer and tournament organiser of the Worlds Championship,
the largest tournament of the game. It gives them full control of the tournament.
Furthermore, the threat of substitutes is low as League of Legends is already an established
game in the industry. But due to a chance of a game suddenly going viral due to social media
nowadays, the threat of new entrants and industry rivalry is moderate. But by continuing to
improve, the loyalty of fans would not change.
And from the 5 P’s of marketing mix, it shows that the strong brand positioning of the esports
of League of Legends. The Worlds Championship has the highest viewership record in 2023,
and the in-game promotions such as pass bundles during the duration of the tournament
increases engagement and participation with consumers.
As such, the first recommendation would be to further improve on fan engagement. Even
though it has been done by providing pass bundles, League of Legends can refer off their
mobile competitor, Mobile Legends, where they allow fans to vote for the teams that would
most likely win the tournament. If the fans got it right, they would receive in-game rewards.
This can further improve viewership and the engagement between the esports of League of
Legends and the fans.
The second recommendation to optimise business activities of the esports of League of
Legends would be through brand collaborations. Another reference from Mobile Legends
would their collaboration with Star Wars, where they developed skins of certain Star Wars
characters. League of Legends can use their current partnership with Marvel to do the same.
With Marvel producing graphic novels of League of Legends, League of Legends can develop
skins of certain Marvel characters or even developing playable Marvel Characters as well. And
before releasing it to the consumers, they can debut it during tournaments like the Worlds
Championship and entice the audience.
To conclude, the esports ecosystem of League of Legends is strong and established in the
industry. However, due to the high bargaining power of buyers and a moderate risk of both
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industry rivalry and threats of new entrants, the continuation of fan engagement and brand
collaborations must be done to not only keep their fans loyal, but to attract new ones as well.
Contents
Executive Summary 3
1.0Introduction 5
2.0Analysis 5-8
2.1Ecosystem 5
2.2SWOT Analysis 6
2.3Porter’s 5 Forces 6-7
2.3.1 Bargaining Power of Supplier 6
2.3.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers 6
2.3.3 Threat of Substitutes 7
2.3.4 Threat of New Entrants 7
2.3.5 Industry Rivalry 7
2.4Marketing Mix 7-8
2.4.1 Product 7
2.4.2 Price 7
2.4.3 Place 8
2.4.4 Promotion 8
2.4.5 People 8
3.0Recommendations 8-9
3.1Fan Engagement 8-9
3.2Brand Collaborations 9
4.0Conclusion 9
References 10-11
Figures
Figure 1: Ecosystem of League of Legends 5
Figure 2: SWOT Analysis of League of Legends 6
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1.0 Introduction
Recently, traditional competitive sports have faced competition from esports. Trends of
competition are shifting towards technological platforms. Games such as League of
Legends, Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), and Defence of the Ancients (DOTA)
are a couple of the popular esports game titles (Block, S. and Haack, F., 2021). Esports has
successfully transcended in the global entertainment market and esports tournaments has
gained a level of respect (Mangeloja, E., 2019).
In this report, League of Legends would be analysed through certain frameworks to
determine the esports ecosystem of the organisation, followed the recommendations of
ways to enhance and improve the practices of the business.
2.0 Analysis
2.1 Ecosystem
The esports ecosystem is made up of a number of important stakeholders, each of whom
is essential to the growth and success of the industry. Game publishers supply the
platforms and games, and players represent teams to compete at the highest levels. While
broadcasters and media services provide viewers with access to the action across the
globe, league organisers ensure that tournaments function efficiently, and sponsors offer
financial assistance. These important stakeholders work together to create a vibrant and
active esports ecosystem (FasterCapital., 2024). Using the template from Besombes, N.
(2019), the ecosystem of League of Legends is shown below.
Figure 1: League of Legends Ecosystem
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Source: Besombes, N., 2019
2.2 SWOT Analysis
SWOT analysis is a process whereby stakeholders identify internal and external forces of
performance, analysis of factors based of estimations to net value contribution and
controllability, and deciding of further actions to take depending on the factors. Strengths
and weaknesses are internal enhancers and inhibitors while opportunities and threats are
external enhancers and inhibitors respectively. This analysis can help an organisation to
reach its goals through new developments (Leigh, D., 2010). As such, this framework is
used to analyse the esports of League of Legends.
Figure 2: SWOT Analysis of League of Legends
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Source: Pereira, D., 2023
2.3 Porter’s 5 Forces
Porter’s 5 Forces is a planning model for future strategies through current market analysis.
Collective power of the five forces helps determine profitability by identifying the
strengths and weaknesses of a project. Identifying the important trends and constraints
will help the company in a better competitive position (Rajasekar, J., 2022). This model is
used to analyse League of Legends’ esports ecosystem.
2.3.1 Bargaining Power of Suppliers (High)
League of Legends has 80 million monthly active players, 22 million that play daily,
and is the most viewed game. The game is named in articles of top viewership
records in eSports. Riot is not dependent on sponsors as they generate large
revenues through the game and has been gradually growing even before the media
and sponsorships (Hanz, A., 2020). The game is only available on Riot Client, a
platform developed by Riot (Kelly, P., 2024). This increases Riot’s supplier power as
there is little to no reliance on third party platforms such as Steam.
2.3.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers (High)
Players of League of Legends have high power by default due to them being the
reliance and growth of the game. The purpose of the game’s marketing is to
increase the value from players through stadium tickets and in-game items. The
high standards set by players can be depicted as a demand in better quality. If the
standards are not met, players would move over to other games that offer it. Thus,
the fanbase is the critical stakeholder and the game needs to satisfy them to
improve returns of investment (Hanz, A., 2020).
2.3.3 Threat of Substitutes (Low)
The threat of substitutes of League of Legends is close to none with the game being
the largest game title with the highest viewership. The game is also consistently
improved and updated to stay modern and relevant. Furthermore, with the release
of Wild Rift, the mobile version of League of Legends, it broadens the fanbase and
leads interest to the PC version, which is League of Legends (Hanz, A., 2020).
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2.3.4 Threat of New Entrants (Moderate)
League of Legends has successfully remained one of the leading games in the
market for ten years. Even though League of Legends is an established game in the
industry, through the effectiveness of the internet, there is a chance for new MOBA
games to go viral and experience quick success, leading to a competition for League
of Legends. But with continuous updates, League of Legends can maintain the
interest of consumers (Gouriou, M., 2020).
2.3.5 Industry Rivalry (Moderate)
League of Legends expanded their brand recognition through collaborations with
other companies like Louis Vuitton and releasing comics of the game through
Marvel. These new strategies helped attract more consumers to the game.
However, other popular games like Fortnite have other strategies. For instance,
Fortnite partnered with Star Wars and Travis Scott to develop skins for in-game
characters (Gouriou, M., 2020). Even though League of Legends is already an
established game, strategies from other popular games would have a threat
towards League of Legends.
2.4 Marketing Mix
The most fundamental concept of marketing is marketing mix. Marketing mix is defined as
“a set of controllable marketing tools used by a company for creating a desired response
in the targeted market”. The marketing mix elements are basic but strategic components
to a marketing plan (Khan, M.T., 2014). Below lists the five P’s of League of Legends’
esports ecosystem.
2.4.1 Product
World of Warcraft and DOTA are the other popular MOBA games, but are harder to
play. League of Legends was developed to target groups that want to play simpler
MOBA games. The combat system and game display are enhanced as well,
separating League of Legends from other MOBA games and attracted a huge
number of players around the world (Wang, H., 2022). The most popular
tournament would be World Championship, with the 2023 tournament breaking the
esports viewership record (Daniels, T., 2023). Riot Games is both the game
developer and tournament organiser of the Worlds Championship (Esports Charts,
2023).
2.4.2 Price
League of Legends is a free-to-play game. The price of the game’s props is
relatively low at 11 USD. Even so, League of Legends produced hundreds of millions
of dollars a year. By having a good pricing strategy, consumers would not feel that a
lot of money is being spent. Free items are developed in the game as well for
players to log in and perform certain tasks to collect. This keeps players interested
and improve experiences, and Riot Games do not spend much for these free game
props as well (Wang, H., 2022). For the Worlds Championship, entry ticket pricing
depends on the tournament stages. Play-in stages ranges between 23 to 30 USD
while the finals is between 62 USD to 189 USD (Tuting, K., 2023).
2.4.3 Place
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Tencent provides comfortable and convenient services for the consumers through
Tencent QQ and has more than 270 million users, with an exceeding of 500 million
users in China. WeChat was developed by Tencent further posting League of
Legends on these platforms, enabling consumers to obtain information about the
game online, gaining a substantial amount of players (Wang, H., 2022). The Worlds
Championship can be watched on broadcasting platforms such as Twitch, YouTube
as well as Riot’s website (Richman, O., 2023). The tournament stages takes place in
stadiums of different countries and states every year where fans can purchase
tickets to spectate in person (Lolesports Staff, 2023).
2.4.4 Promotion
League of Legends releases discounts on different occasions to the consumers.
Skins of characters are sold at half price during holidays. This greatly attracts
consumers to purchase as it is of limited time only. Other events such as prize pools
and lottery activities are introduced as well, giving consumers opportunities to
obtain in-game items (Wang, H., 2022). League of Legends has pass bundles for
fans during the Worlds Championship period in the game. These pass bundles would
give in-game rewards on a regular basis. More rewards would be given by
completing missions in the game (Laserface., 2023). Through such promotions, it
increases consumer engagement and maintains participation.
2.4.5 People
League of Legends is played every day by millions of people with a record of 14
million players in a day in February 2022. On Twitch, League of Legends is the most-
watched game with over 3 million views in a month and an amassing 112 million
hours viewed total. The most active players are between ages 21 to 24, with male
gamers making up 87% (Samanta, O., 2024). Asia has the largest League of
Legends player bases with China, South Korea and Southeast Asia dominating, then
Europe (Xu, D., 2024). The Worlds Championship has 110 players in 22 teams
around the world competing. Majority of the player base are from South Korea and
China, and the average age range is between ages 17 and 25 (Dempsey, I., 2023).
3.0 Recommendation
3.1 Fan Engagement
Fan engagement is defined as the process of fan interaction to encourage active
participation to create and strengthen bonds. By engaging with fans, both revenue and
loyalty improves as they would be more inclined to purchase merchandise and attend
events. Passion also builds through engagement, leading to word-of-mouth with social
connections such as family and friends. This further increases the consumer base. Lastly,
it allows organisations to further understand the preferences of the fanbase and use
feedback to improve on the business (Rotko, H., 2023).
How League of Legends can implement this recommendation would be through votes
pertaining to certain things in the game. For example, Mobile Legends, a mobile MOBA
game, allows fans to vote for their favourite players during the annual M Series
Championship. Fans can earn more votes by completing tasks such as watching an
advertisement or simply logging into the game. The ten players with the highest votes
would be crowned the Greatest 10 Players (Elona, J., 2023).
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League of Legends can use this idea to further develop their in-game promotions during
the Worlds Championship. For instance, allowing fans to vote on who would be best
players throughout the tournament. Fans that voted right would receive in-game rewards
such as coins or discounts. This increases interaction with the fans, creating a unique bond
between both parties (Vidlo., 2024).
3.2 Brand Collaborations
Brand collaboration is the partnership between two or more brands that work together to
create initiatives and experiences through the combination of resources and audiences to
obtain benefits and growth. By identifying common factors between the brands such as
goals and values, and having a clear plan and value proposition, it ensures a successful
brand collaboration (Hultgren, A., 2023).
Through a successful brand collaboration, multiple benefits can appear for the brands
involved. Higher market share is one of them. By creating creative and unique initiatives
for consumers, it gives partnered brands an edge in their industry as there would be an
increase in Return on Investment, growth and expansion. Increase in brand awareness and
consumer base is another. Brand collaborations generates commotion beyond the current
consumers, sparking curiosity and market penetration that were not discovered before by
respective partner brands (Propello., 2024).
League of Legends can use their current brand collaboration with Marvel as an advantage
as they partnered to release graphic novels of the game (Frevele, F., 2018). Mobile
Legends can be used as reference again, where they collaborated with Star Wars to
develop skins for in-game characters (Elona, J., 2022). League of Legends can do the same
with Marvel characters as skins, or even making them as playable characters.
Furthermore, League of Legends can have esports teams debut these skins and characters
during a tournament before releasing to the fans, enticing the consumers to watch the
tournaments for a preview, which would improve the viewership of the esports event.
4.0 Conclusion
In conclusion, League of Legends has a strong esports ecosystem, with Riot, the game
developer, having a strong bargaining power, and a low threat of substitutes. Even though the
threat of new entrants is moderate, the game already has an established position in the
esports scene. But the potential of new games going is there, which is why League of Legends
has to constantly improve to meet consumers’ standards.
The brand positioning of the esports of League of Legends is strong as well, with them having
the highest viewership record as of 2023. Therefore, through further fan engagement, not
only will fans remain loyal, but an increase in fanbase would occur as well. Having more brand
collaborations and debuting the items during esports tournaments would also help strengthen
the League of Legends’ esports ecosystem.
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References
Besombes, N., 2019. Esports Ecosystem and Landscape. Medium. Available at:
https://medium.com/@nicolas.besombes/esports-ecosystem-and-landscape-3dbbd653dc2c
(Assessed 3 April 2024).
Block, S. and Haack, F., 2021. eSports: a new industry. In SHS Web of Conferences (Vol. 92, p.
04002). EDP Sciences.
Daniels, T., 2023. League of Legends World Championship 2023 breaks esports viewership
record. Esports Insider. Available at: https://esportsinsider.com/2023/11/league-of-legends-
world-championship-2023-esports-viewership-record (Assessed 9 April 2024).
Dempsey, I., 2023. Worlds 2023: player demographics and team insights. Esports Charts.
Available at: https://escharts.com/news/worlds-2023-player-team-stats (Assessed 9 April
2024).
Elona, J., 2022. MLBB x Star Wars event: Release date, events, rewards. ONE Esports.
Available at: https://www.oneesports.gg/mobile-legends/mlbb-x-star-wars-rewards/ (Assessed
4 April 2024).
Elona, J., 2023. How to vote for your favourite MLBB pros at the M Series 5th anniversary
awards. ONE Esports. https://www.oneesports.gg/mobile-legends/vote-m-series-5th-
anniversary/ (Assessed 8 April 2024).
Esports Charts, 2023. 2023 World Championship [Worlds 2023] – LOL. Available at:
https://escharts.com/tournaments/lol/2023-world-championship (Assessed 10 April 2024).
FasterCapital., 2024. Understanding the Esports Ecosystem: A Comprehensive Guide for
Entrepreneurs. Available at: https://fastercapital.com/content/Understanding-the-Esports-
Ecosystem--A-Comprehensive-Guide-for Entrepreneurs.html#:~:text=In%20conclusion%2C
%20the%20esports%20ecosystem (Accessed 29 March 2024).
Frevele, F., 2018. Marvel Teams Up with Riot Games for Graphic Novels Based on ‘League of
Legends’. Marvel. Available at: https://www.marvel.com/articles/comics/marvel-teams-up-
with-riot-games-for-graphic-novels-based-on-league-of-legends (Assessed 4 April 2024).
Gouriou, M., 2020. Influence of Virtual Communities of Companies in the Gaming Industry: A
Case Study of MMO Games.
Hanz, A., 2020. Exploring the eSports environment: A marketing-oriented analysis of the
biggest unnoticed sponsoring channel.
Hultgren, A., 2023. The Power and Impact of Brand Collaborations: 12 Best-in-Class Examples.
Chameleon Collective. Available at: https://chameleoncollective.com/blog/power-impact-
brand-collaborations/ (Assessed 4 April 2024).
Kelly, P., 2024. Is League of Legends on Steam. PCGamesN. Available at:
https://www.pcgamesn.com/league-of-legends/steam (Assessed 2 April 2024).
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Khan, M.T., 2014. The concept of ‘marketing mix’and its elements. International journal of
information, business and management, 6(2), pp.95-107.
Laserface., 2023. League of Legends – Worlds 2023. Riot Games. Available at: https://support-
leagueoflegends.riotgames.com/hc/en-us/articles/19434260680083-League-of-Legends-
Worlds-2023 (Assessed 9 April 2024).
Leigh, D., 2010. SWOT Analysis.
Lolesports Staff, 2023. Announcing Worlds 2023 Venues, Dates, and Ticket Sales. Lol Esports.
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sales/blt6a406760c6383a51 (Assessed 10 April 2024).
Mangeloja, E., 2019. Economics of esports. Electronic Journal of Business Ethics and
Organization Studies, 24(2).
Pereira, D., 2023. Riot Games Business Model. Business Model Analyst.
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(Assessed 8 April 2024).
Propello., 2024. How Can These Top 10 Benefits of Brand Partnerships Revolutionise Your
Marketing? Available at: https://blog.propellocloud.com/benefits-of-brand-partnerships
(Assessed 4 April 2024).
Rajasekar, J., 2022. Porter's 5 Forces-A strategic planning model.
Richman, O., 2023. How to Watch League of Legends Worlds 2023 – Schedule, Stream,
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legends-worlds-2023-schedule-stream-teams#:~:text=How%20to%20Watch%20Worlds
%202023,as%20directly%20on%20their%20site (Assessed 9 April 2024).
Rotko, H., 2023. Fan Engagement in Sports. Available at: https://www.choicely.com/blog/fan-
engagement-in-sports-the-fundamentals-to-a-winning-strategy#:~:text=Fan%20engagement
%20is%20the%20process,strengthening%20an%20emotional%2C%20lasting%20bond
(Assessed 4 April 2024).
Samanta, O., 2024. League of Legends Player Count & Stats 2024. Priori Data. Available at:
https://prioridata.com/data/league-of-legends/ (Assessed 29 March 2024).
Tuting, K., 2023. League of Legends Worlds 2023 tickets: Where to buy, sales start dates,
prices. ONE Esports. Available at: https://www.oneesports.gg/league-of-legends/lol-worlds-
2023-tickets-prices/ (Assessed 9 April 2024).
Vidlo., 2024. The Benefits of Video Content and Fan Engagement. LinkedIn. Available at:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/benefits-video-content-fan-engagement-vidlo-xuplc/
(Assessed 4 April 2024).
Wang, H., 2022. Understanding the Marketing Strategies: 4 Ps Marketing Mix or Other
Strategies used by Tencent Games in the Video Game Market.
Xu, D., 2024. League of Legends Player Count – 2024 Stats. Esports.net. Available at:
https://www.esports.net/news/lol/league-of-legends-player-count/ (Assessed 29 March 2024).
