Interest in gaming and esports is soaring, sending people in search of the best places to play and work in the space. A recently released study shines a light on the best and worst cities around the world for people hoping to get into the business.
In December 2020, a study by Broadband Savvy examined and assessed 74 cities from multiple countries on the basis of “high-speed internet availability, broadband cost and connectivity, frequency of gaming expos and eSports LAN events, the cost of gaming hardware, gaming-related jobs per-capita, the cost of rent, and 5G coverage.”
Austin, Texas, received the top spot in the rankings as the best place in the world to live as a gamer due to “its fast internet, frequent expos, and excellent gaming job opportunities.” Seoul, South Korea was No. 2 because of its extremely fast internet speeds and thriving esports scene.
Seoul, South Korea was also the best performing city in Asia because it scored well in three main categories of average internet speed, 5G availability, and it having a dedicated esports stadium.
And while those two cities took home to the two top spots, Dubai ranked last while Abu Dhabi finished third-to-last because gigabit internet costs “the equivalent of nearly $800 per month.” Sydney, Australia, was second-to-last in the study due to its “slow, expensive internet speeds, high costs of living, and lackluster gaming job opportunities.”
Bucharest, the No. 3 ranked city in the study, stood out to the surveyors for having the cheapest ultrafast internet in the world. This goes hand-in-hand with a combined low overall cost of living compared to the other locations that were studied. Gigabit broadband in Bucharest can be found for under $10 per month with low latency. Additionally, according to the study, Bucharest has more gaming jobs per capita than London, Vancouver, and New York City.
North American cities such as Austin, Seattle, and Montreal led the pack in terms of gaming job availability.
Top 10 cities:
- Austin
- Seoul
- Bucharest
- Paris
- Los Angeles
- Hong Kong
- Montreal
- Barcelona
- Seattle
- Boston
Bottom 10 cities:
- St Petersburg
- Cairo
- Johannesburg
- Vienna
- Santiago
- Auckland
- Brisbane
- Abu Dhabi
- Sydney
- Dubai
