Are eSports Stocks Good Picks for Millennial Investors?

StockTwits maintains lists of stocks to help its users find stocks that are related to a given sector. Since the community is highly focused on young people, many of the stock lists are geared towards that mindset. Let’s take a look at some of the companies in the eSports Stocks list and see if they’re worth investing. You can view this list on StockTwits and follow it yourself if you sign-up and login.

Amazon

It may seem strange to see Amazon at the top of this list unless you know that the company owns Twitch. Twitch is the largest game streaming platform in the world, hosting eSports tournaments, nightly streams, dev streams, and more. Twitch has become the go-to place to watch games be played live, even over YouTube. As such, Amazon’s stock garners a spot at the top of this list. Amazon also owns at least one game studio that is working on a massively multiplayer online game, but only alpha footage of that project has been shown so far. In the future, Amazon is likely to position itself as both a host of content through Twitch and a developer through its game studio. Online games tend to trend towards the live services model, which allows for the continual purchase of new items added to the game.

Activision Blizzard, Inc.

Activision Blizzard publishes many popular online games such as World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Call of Duty, and Destiny. Every single one of these games operates on the live services model that features additional content added in quarterly or yearly updates. Live service games feature boosted engagement and players who are willing to stick with the game long-term. Right now, may be a good time to buy as the stock is hitting new lows in the downward trending economy. ATVI’s host of IP is well-known among gamers and will continue to generate revenue well into the future.

EA

Electronic Arts is the other major American game publisher just behind Activision Blizzard. EA is famous for their annualized sports games like FIFA and Madden that continues to draw in the same crowd year after year. The company has had a bit of a downturn in the most recent economic slump, but this started back in 2017 with the release of Battlefront II. The loot box model drew comparisons to gambling when players saw how it worked. The revenue model also bought scrutiny from several governments including Belgium, Australia, and the U.S. state of Hawai’i. While Battlefront II sold well at launch, it didn’t hit the numbers the company expected, and so the game’s loot box model was scrapped. The release of this game and its fallout could have lasting effects for live service model games who rely on loot box sales to generate income.

Logitech

Logitech is one of the biggest accessory manufacturers in the world. The company can withstand controversies like loot boxes through its tertiary relationship with gaming. Gaming is not Logitech’s only focus, but it makes up a vast portion of the company’s attention. LOGI regularly sponsors eSports tournaments to help advertise its G series accessories to those who watch professional gamers. Logitech is a great pick because it has a strong place in the market, but it is not tied solely to gamers like Turtle Beach.