Esports, the term for competitive video gaming, will increasingly impact office and broadcast studio space in the Greater Los Angeles region, according to research by CBRE. In fact, the industry already has a sizeable footprint in SoCal. Blizzard Entertainment built out a 60,000-square-foot broadcast studio in Burbank this year. Riot Games, which developed the top game title in the world, “League of Legends,” occupies nearly 500,000 square feet in West L.A. for offices and studios. ESL Gaming doubled the size of its Burbank office to 25,000 square feet in 2015. In addition, Warner Bros. acquired Machinima, an online video broadcaster, and integrated it with its Burbank-based Interactive Entertainment division in 2015. Investments in esports by game studios, league operators and team owners will continue to fuel demand for real estate, predicts CBRE researcher Petra Durnin. Industry growth will also spread into ancillary businesses such as game console and controller manufacturers, virtual reality technology, training facilities and broadcast studios. For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Dennis Kaiser Tags: exports, Research