Fortnite players know what it needs to dominate esports: stats, local events, and focus

By 2022, esports will be as huge as the National Football League. That’s one of the stunning conclusions from a recent study from Goldman Sachs, which found that the esports market is set to generate $3 billion in revenue by 2022. In the next five years, esports will see a 14 percent annual growth, according to the investment bank’s study.Goldman Sachs isn’t the only one bullish about the growth of esports. A study from the PwC  makes similar proclamations, reiterating that this space “can no longer be ignored.” Major networks like ESPN, NBC, and TBS are even getting into the space, airing large esports tournaments live.Helping drive the incredible growth of this market is the popularity of the battle royale genre. In particular, Fortnite — the online multiplayer game from Epic Games — has become a phenomenon and has created a number of esports megastars, including Tyler “Ninja” Blevins.The popularity of Fortnite also caught our attention at Reach3 Insights, and it inspired us to explore the factors behind the game’s impressive rise. Partnering with the popular streamer and Instagram influencer TheSquatingDog, we engaged more than 900 Fortnite players in conversational exercises using software from Rival Technologies. In the process, we collected hundreds of videos and images and uncovered surprising behavioral, emotional and contextual insights on Gen Z, the cohort after millennials.