Max Krippa's investment portfolio: how investors use esports market factors

The relatively new electronic sports market promises good returns, but it also comes with high investment risks. This is not Rocket Science, but basic rules for any new market or segment. Experienced investors like Maxim Krippa do not read coffee grounds but manage to make balanced decisions in conditions of high uncertainty. How do they do it? Let's consider specific decisions by Maxim Krippa.

Formation of the esports market:

Strangely enough, it all started with Space and, of course, not yesterday. When it comes to esports (short for electronic sports), many begin the count from the 2000s. In fact, the first computer game competition took place in 1972 – they played Spacewar, but serious moves towards market formation and industry really happened in the 2000s.

The industry of esports product development is often compared to AI, as the first developments in both cases were made in the last century. But a lack of investment and high uncertainty, which entails high risks, greatly slowed the development process. Esports became a profession only in the 2010s, at the same time global and local markets began to form, where investors gradually “entered.”

Among the first giant companies that supported esports, we can recall Intel and Coca-Cola. New industry was also powerfully supported by streaming platforms, for example: YouTube.

Speaking of the Ukrainian esports market, one of the first investors who began to form a full-fledged segment portfolio was Maxim Krippa. And it happened in 2018. At that time, a startup called Maincast had just begun to work in Kyiv.

The company planned to broadcast esports events, games, and tournaments. The event was quite successfully chosen for the launch – The International tournament for Dota 2. The peculiarity of the event was in the open rights to broadcast. But the availability of equipment, start-up capital, experience, and cunning did not yet guarantee success – an investor was needed. It was Maxim Krippa, who weighed the decision for several months.

Market drivers and prospects:

Maxim Krippa's decision to start working with the esports market turned out to be successful. Every year its correctness is only confirmed. It is quite difficult to calculate the capacity of the global esports market, but analysts name the figure of $1.58 billion in 2023. An annual growth rate of +18% is also cited. Existing forecasts suggest that by 2031 the volume of the global esports market will reach $6.19 billion.

Among the main drivers of the esports industry, the following can be highlighted: the growing popularity of video games and the development of streaming platforms.

It works as follows: more and more people are interested in video games, and demand, as you know, creates supply. Or vice versa – expert opinions differ here. In any case, the transition from a passion for video games to esports is very simple and logical. Some users try to make a hobby a profession, while others become viewers and fans. Today, about 1% of the population of European countries is fond of esports. Thus, the growing popularity of video games with a good market potential can lead to a significant increase in the audience. In turn, a large viewer interest will attract sponsors, and therefore money.

The pattern is simple, clear. And although in practice it does not work so primitively and linearly, the logic can still be caught. As the logic can be traced in the actions of investor Maxim Krippa, who in 2023 became the beneficial owner of GSC Game World. The newly acquired company by Maxim Krippa is engaged in the production of computer video games and plans to release the first-person shooter S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl this year.

The second driver of the development of the esports industry is streaming platforms. They are not only popular, here it is enough to mention YouTube, without which it already seems impossible to live, but also diverse. For example, Twitch, which specializes in esports broadcasts. The development of these platforms helps esports expand its audience and increase profitability.

The same Maincast studio, of which Maxim Krippa is still a co-owner, recently broke its own record. The peak viewership of the Counter-Strike 2 tournament broadcast in the Ukrainian-language segment was about 140 thousand users. And analysts say this is not the limit – in the near future, the Ukrainian audience of esports fans and in particular Counter-Strike may reach 350-400 thousand.

Segment portfolio:

The Ukrainian esports market is developing in parallel with the global one. And yes, there are economic problems in Ukraine, which also affect the industry, but not to such an extent as to stop development. Today, the most striking segment portfolio in Ukrainian esports is the portfolio of Maxim Krippa.

In it, in addition to the already mentioned Maincast and GSC Game World, there is also a world-renowned esports organization – NAVI. Maxim Krippa is its beneficial owner.

It took Maxim Krippa a little more than 6 years to form a star portfolio – an amazing speed and foresight. It remains only to guess what part of the global esports market Maxim Krippa's assets will be able to capture, but the chances of decent and constantly growing profitability are very high.