We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Esports Stocks to Buy Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) stands against the other esports stocks.

The esports industry is witnessing significant growth and is expected to continue growing. The COVID-19 pandemic fueled the trend of gaming and esports as people turned to online gaming for entertainment and this led to a surge in participation and viewership. In more recent times, the rising demand for video games combined with the rise of live-streaming platforms has continued to support this trend and further boost the growth of the esports industry.

According to a report by The Business Research Company, the global esports market was valued at $2.73 billion in 2024. The market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.2% during 2025-2029 to reach a value of $7.03 billion by the end of the forecast period. In 2024, North America was the largest region in the global esports market.

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Other factors that are fueling the industry’s growth include the professionalization of esports and the rise in video gaming competitions around the world. The first-ever Esports World Cup was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in July and August 2024. The event saw more than 1,500 players and included 23 competitions across 22 different video games like Call of Duty and Fortnite. The Esports World Cup in 2024 offered a massive prize pool of $60 million. The event attracted significant attention from sponsors and media and this contributed to the growth of esports globally. According to the Esports World Cup Foundation, the competition will take place annually in Saudi Arabia in Riyadh Boulevard City.

On February 11, the Esports World Cup Foundation announced that the first edition of the Olympic Esports Games will be held in 2027 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Esports World Cup Foundation has been named a founding partner and will work alongside the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to organize the event. This initiative aims to bridge the gap between esports and traditional sports through nation-based tournaments. The Road to the Games will start in 2025. It seems that esports is on track to become even more popular in the near future.

Methodology

To compile our list of the 10 best esports stocks to buy now, we looked for the largest video game and esports companies. We also sifted through our own rankings, financial media reports, ETFs, and various online resources to compile a list of the best esports stocks. From an initial list of over 25 stocks, we focused on the top 10 stocks most favored by institutional investors. Data for the hedge fund sentiment surrounding each stock was taken from Insider Monkey’s Q3 2024 database of 900 elite hedge funds. The 10 best esports stocks to buy now were then ranked in ascending order based on the number of hedge funds holding stakes in them as of Q3 2024.

Why do we care about what hedge funds do? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 279

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is an American technology company that ranks among the best esports stocks to buy now. Thanks to its Xbox consoles and gaming services, the company is a major player in the global esports market. In October 2023, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) acquired Activision Blizzard for approximately $69 billion. This move significantly enhanced the company’s standing in the esports industry and brought popular franchises like Call of Duty, Warcraft, and Diablo under its umbrella.

The company is strategically focused on improving the profitability of its gaming business through higher-margin content and platform services. In October 2024, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) launched Black Ops 6, which became the top-selling game on Xbox and PlayStation for the quarter that ended December 31, 2024. Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) said that this was the “biggest Call of Duty release ever.”

The company has reported positive results from its focus on content and cloud gaming. Released in December 2024, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has also been well-received and it has already been played by over 4 million people. In Q2 of its fiscal year 2025, which ended December 31, 2024, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) reported that Xbox Cloud Gaming reached a record 140 million hours streamed. Additionally, the company is looking to drive the number of fully paid subscribers across all platforms. Game Pass achieved a new quarterly record for revenue and managed to grow its PC subscriber base by more than 30%.

Overall, MSFT ranks 1st on our list of the best esports stocks to buy now. While we acknowledge the potential of MSFT as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MSFT but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.