Esports and Gaming Trends with Will Hershey of Roundhill Investments

On the podcast this week, we have Will Hershey, cofounder and CEO of Roundhill Investments, to help us breakdown Esports and the Gaming Industry. Will is responsible for the company’s indexing, research, and product development efforts, in addition to firm-level partnerships and operations. Before founding Roundhill in 2018, Will served as the Head Trader with Yorkville Capital Management, and prior to that he was with Yorkville ETF Advisors, where he was instrumental in the creation and growth of two NYSE-listed ETFs. We dive into the latest trends in gaming, what we are looking forward to as new tech develops, and different business models between streaming platforms, both in the east and the west. Will gives us his perspective on cloud gaming and the introduction of VR. For an incredible look into the world of Esports, be sure not to miss out on today’s episode!   Key Points From This Episode: Will’s high-level view on the gaming industry and where it is headed. Understanding the participation versus consumption ratios in digital gaming. Differences and similarities between Esports and live streaming. The main players buying up leagues in the Esports industry. AfreecaTV’s business model and how they compare to Chinese streaming platforms. Popularity of virtual goods and how the revenue model works within the industry. The value and power that exists within online streaming platforms. Looking at the future of streaming platforms locking down multi-year contracts with content creators. Differing take rates between streaming platforms in the west. Is it possible for a content creator to transcend these streaming platforms? Is there a place for cloud gaming in the casual player market? The market dynamics of cloud gaming: will it cannibalize or draw new players? Why the mobile gaming will likely have the most direct impact on changing the entire gaming landscape. The tremendous value of the gaming platform to advertisers. Will’s viewpoint on VR and how it will accelerate the gaming industry. Importance of understanding the different gaming landscapes and ecosystems. How Battle Royale is changing the way games are consumed and played from a viewer perspective.   Tweetables: “More people watch gaming and Esports than Netflix, HBO, Hulu and ESPN combined.” — @maybebullish “Most of gaming viewership is not live right now, most of it’s video on demand.” — @maybebullish “When we’re having these big shifts in terms of the way people are consuming games, it’s taken the IP to be the driver, not the tech.” — @maybebullish