Hong Kong ready to play in esports: executive of gaming-gear firm

An industry around esports – team-based competitive video gaming – is in the early stages of development in Hong Kong, but is set to enjoy large growth in the coming years, according to an executive with gaming-peripheral company SteelSeries.

“Hong Kong is not a fully developed esports market,” said Dickson Lee, the Denmark-based company’s vice-president and general manager in the Asia-Pacific region. “But we’re seeing a lot of government projects in the esports industry, such as esports education, training, provided venues and working with different universities.”

SteelSeries makes devices for gaming including headsets, mice, controllers, keyboards and gamepads. It also sponsors esports teams and tournaments, as well as streamers, influencers and gaming content creators.

Hong Kong’s 2018-2019 budget allocated HK$100 million (US$12.9 million) to the government-backed incubator and tech hub Cyberport to boost esports in Hong Kong, including funding the CyberArcade for international and local events. Over three years, the venue hosted 21 tournaments, including six international ones. Following a local team’s silver medal at the 19th Asian Games in 2023 in Hangzhou, in China’s eastern Zhejiang province, the Hong Kong Sports Institute funded 12 players in 2024-2025 through its support scheme.

According to data aggregator Esports Earnings, Hong Kong-origin players rank 48th in the world, having earned more than US$5.4 million in prize money from 901 tournaments. Their top games are Fortnite, League of Legends, Arena of Valor and Street Fighter 6.

The international market for gaming gear was expected to be worth US$4.74 billion this year, rising to US$5.72 billion in 2030, according to a Research and Markets report.

“If you look at the growth [from China] for the next five years, the growth is quite stable,” Lee said. “It’s not going to triple or quadruple. But the opportunity for growth in the Hong Kong market is massive, as more gamers begin playing and more start watching esports. So I think Hong Kong will have dramatic growth in the next five to 10 years.”