The average retirement age of nearly 1,000 people who retire every year is only 24 years old
Where is the "second half" of e-sports players?
With an average career of less than three years and fierce competition on live streaming platforms, where do professional e-sports players go after they retire?
Recently, the e-sports sparring platform Bixin announced the launch of the e-sports "parachute plan", through the opening of the "e-sports parachute" area to provide traffic support to help retired professional players achieve employment "soft landing".
It is reported that more than 30 top-level league retired players have settled in Bixin.
The average retirement age is only 24 years old
According to the “New Profession-Analysis Report on the Employment Situation of E-sports Players” released by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security in 2019, there are more than 5,000 e-sports teams (including clubs) in operation in my country, with approximately 100,000 professional e-sports players. A large number of semi-professional and amateur e-sports players are active in various small and medium-scale e-sports competitions.
According to industry sources, there are currently about 2,000 professional e-sports players in service in China. The average professional career of e-sports players is 2 to 3 years. Each year, nearly 1,000 professional players retire due to age and competitive status.
For most retired professional e-sports players, staying as coaches, acting as commentators, and anchors are the more mainstream transformation directions, but less than one-tenth of the retired players can become well-known anchors or become coaches behind the scenes. .
The career of e-sports players is shorter than that of traditional sports. According to media statistics, the average retirement age of e-sports professionals is only 24 years old.
Facing the fierce competition in the live broadcast industry, a large number of retired players who entered the live broadcast circle failed to make waves.
The test water anchor received mediocre response
"After retiring, I tried to be an anchor for a period of time, but my personality was more introverted, and I was not very open. The live broadcast effect was not ideal." Xiao Duan (pseudonym) is a League of Legends professional player and former member of the LNG team. Once called "UZI hand-picked assistance", after retiring in 2020, he tried the water live broadcast but the response was mediocre.
The professional player of King of Glory and former YTG team Shan Orange Juice (pseudonym) also said that after retiring, he tried to be an anchor, but his income was not ideal and he was always looking for new directions.
For many retired players, the pressure on both sides of the scale is the pressure of life, and the other is the e-sports career that has persisted for a long time. The emergence of Bixin's "parachute plan" has just helped them find a balance.
From a professional player to a training partner
Not long ago, Xiao Duan and Orange Juice successively received invitations from Bixin to enter the "e-sports parachute" area, mainly serving as sparring and live broadcasting tasks.
As a star retired player stationed on the platform, he can obtain special identifications such as "exclusive avatar frame" and "exclusive recommendation page", and obtain technical label certification.
In addition, the exclusive traffic portal can also provide additional bonuses for their exposure and order volume.
There are many professional players like Xiaoduan who are attracted to join the "parachute project".
In addition to short sections and orange juice, the first batch of professional players to join the "Parachute Project" includes more than 30 top league retired players such as the former Peace Elite Professional League (PEL) JDE team Nishiki, and the former Peace Elite Professional League (PEL) DKG team mad brother.
In Orange Juice's view, for some professional players who are not good at socializing but have high-level gaming skills and experience, joining the "parachute program" is a good employment direction.
"Since I am a server, as a professional player, I will definitely guide my teammates and help them improve." Xiao Duan said that he can adapt to the role change from a professional player to a platform sparring. "For me, whether it is a professional player , Or as an anchor or as a training partner, it is all work, there is no difference between high and low." He looks forward to meeting his fans in ordering in the future and regaining the intimacy of the past water friend competition.
The platform and the players achieved a win-win situation
Many retired professional players believe that the "parachute plan" has enabled the platform and the players to achieve a win-win situation.
On the one hand, players can continue to engage in the e-sports business they love and earn a decent income; on the other hand, Bixin gathers a large number of high-end e-sports professionals through the "parachute plan" to continuously meet the diverse needs of users for e-sports training. Bixin provides great assistance in the development of core business scenarios.
According to the relevant person in charge of Bixin, opening up a special area for retired players and providing innovative employment channels is only the first step for Bixin to pave the way for retired players.
In the future, Bixin will also explore with retired players in live broadcast, e-sports marketing activities and other fields to help them shine in the e-sports industry, continue to expand new career paths, and provide guarantee for the second half of the retired players’ "e-sports career" .
Text/Reporter Wang Lei