What Video Gaming and eSports Reveals About Thematic ETFs
11 September 2025
VanEck marks its 70th anniversary in the United States this year. Since 1955, we've built a legacy of anticipating global investment trends. In that spirit, our 2019 launch of the VanEck Video Gaming and eSports UCITS ETF (ESPO) was a double first: not only VanEck Europe’s first thematic ETF, but also the first gaming ETF ever launched in Europe — based on the conviction that gaming would grow into a major economic, cultural, and technological force.
More than six years later, that view has broadly been justified, although not everything we anticipated has come to pass. In this sense, it’s a good case study in how a successful thematic ETF investment can progress over time.
Review of Performance Since Launch
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of capital.
Let’s start with what mattered to early investors: performance. Over the years since inception, the ETF has generated an annualized return of 23.54%1. When comparing the annualized performance of VanEck Europe’s ETF range since their respective launches, it ranks fourth out of 37 strategies, behind our defense (+55.11%), uranium and nuclear technologies (+48.55%), and space (+37.78%) ETFs, as shown in below table2. That said, comparing strategies launched at different points in time should be approached with caution, as market conditions at inception and throughout the life of a fund can significantly influence performance. For context, we refer to the table below, which provides a broader perspective on relative returns since launch.
Figure 1: Top 5 VanEck Europe ETFs since inception, Returns in %
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of capital. Investing in the VanEck Video Gaming and eSports ETF involves significant risks, including sector concentration, market volatility, liquidity challenges, currency fluctuations, regulatory changes, and the risk of total loss of capital.
| ETF Name | Inception Date | Since Inception | YTD* | 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years |
| VanEck Defense UCITS ETF | 3/31/2023 | 55.11 | 56.49 | 69.00 | ||
| VanEck Uranium and Nuclear Technologies UCITS ETF | 2/3/2023 | 48.55 | 42.09 | 76.14 | ||
| VanEck Space Innovators UCITS ETF | 6/24/2022 | 37.78 | 36.70 | 109.46 | 37.00 | |
| VanEck Video Gaming and eSports UCITS ETF | 6/24/2019 | 23.46 | 30.86 | 63.71 | 35.05 | 14.52 |
| VanEck Semiconductor UCITS ETF | 12/1/2020 | 20.13 | 14.51 | 14.59 | 34.13 |
*YTD data as of end of Q2 2025.
Source: Morningstar Direct, data as of August 31st 2025, unless otherwise specified. In USD Terms. Periods greater than one year are annualized. The comparator funds may have different investment policies and risk profiles compared to the VanEck Video Gaming and eSports UCITS ETF. Please consider these differences when assessing past performance.
Gaming’s Evolution and Outlook
What’s driven the gaming industry’s performance? In a nutshell, the growing maturity of the gaming industry as our vision came to pass. The industry’s revenues have grown reasonably consistently, albeit with a surge during the Covid-19 pandemic followed by a slight dip afterwards (see Figure 2). This dip catalyzed a round of cost-cutting, operational streamlining and improved capital allocation3.
Figure 2: Long-Term Structural Growth of Global Revenues and Players
* Projected by Newzoo, current data may differ from data quoted.
Source: Newzoo Global Games Market Reports, 2018-2024.
The scale and diversity of gaming have evolved to the point where it’s arguably the biggest part of the media and entertainment business. That’s been fueled by the emergence of mobile and social gaming, as well as ‘in-app monetization’ that generates revenue from a game after it has been downloaded through, for example, subscriptions for ongoing content or ads within the game4. This trend was already identified in our 2020 thematic outlook as a potential driver of long-term growth in the gaming industry5.
Looking ahead, generative AI is poised to further accelerate game development by reducing time and costs. Beyond efficiency gains, it holds the potential to transform game design, deepen player engagement, and enhance publisher margins6. This ongoing shift is set to benefit software providers focused on AI-driven creation, personalization, and monetization — including companies like AppLovin, Roblox, and Unity, among others.
However, one part of our original thesis has so far developed more slowly than anticipated. While esports have clearly become a staple of youth media consumption, the growth in revenues has not yet materialized to the extent we expected7. This serves as a reminder to remain cautious when projecting revenue scalability in fast-evolving digital ecosystems.
Changes Over Time and Investment Patience
The evolution of ESPO’s top holdings illustrates how thematic ETFs naturally adapt as their underlying themes evolve. In 2019, chipmakers like NVIDIA and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) had more exposure to the gaming ecosystem. Today, their revenues are dominated by AI hardware, and under our rules-based approach, both were removed once gaming exposure fell below 25%. At the same time, software providers such as AppLovin, Roblox and Unity, which all went public after the ETF's launch, have become core players in the modern gaming landscape.
Figure 3: Top 10 Holdings of VanEck eSports and Gaming UCITS ETF, Weight in %
| Top 10 Holdings, 06/25/2019 | Top 10 Holdings, 08/28/2025 | ||
| NVIDIA Corp | 8.28 | AppLovin Corp | 9.10 |
| Tencent Holdings Ltd | 8.15 | Tencent Holdings Ltd | 8.33 |
| Nintendo Co Ltd | 7.22 | Roblox Corp | 7.73 |
| Electronic Arts Inc | 6.79 | Nintendo Co Ltd | 7.16 |
| Advanced Micro Devices Inc | 6.27 | Unity Software Inc | 5.78 |
| Activision Blizzard Inc | 6.14 | NetEase Inc | 5.60 |
| Sea Ltd | 4.81 | Electronic Arts Inc | 5.22 |
| NetEase Inc | 4.74 | Take-Two Interactive Software Inc | 4.96 |
| Take-Two Interactive Software Inc | 4.66 | Aristocrat Leisure Ltd | 4.52 |
| NCsoft Corp | 4.65 | Konami Group Corp | 4.51 |
Source: Morningstar Direct.
So, what are ESPO’s lessons that apply to thematic ETFs more generally. Overall, if you have confidence in a theme, they’re a good way to play it. Even if the theme doesn’t unfold exactly as expected, the ETF’s diversification and ongoing adjustments can help you stay aligned with its broader trend.
Beyond that, remember the virtue of not just foresight but also investment patience. When investing in any theme, there will be volatility and disappointments along the way. Themes can evolve unevenly, and exposures and results may be affected by market cycles, regulation or unforeseen shifts. Don’t let this shake your conviction as long as your long-term growth thesis remains intact. In the end, thematic investing is about aligning with long-term change — while remaining open to re-evaluating along the way.
1 Morningstar Direct, data as of August 31st 2025, in USD Terms
2 Morningstar Direct, data as of August 31st 2025, in USD Terms
3 Gam3s (18/05/2025) $1.8 Billion Invested Across Five Years
4 Juego Studios (24/06/2025) Everything You Need to Know About: How Studios Are Adapting to Game-As-A-Service Model
5 In-Game Spending: Revolutionizing Video Game Revenues
6 Educational Voice (19/04/2025) AI Economic Impact on Animation: Reshaping Industry Practices and Job Markets
7 Newzoo Global Gamer Study 2024, How consumers engage with gamers today.
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This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the prospectus of the UCITS and to the KID before making any final investment decisions.
This information originates from VanEck (Europe) GmbH, which has been appointed as distributor of VanEck products in Europe by the Management Company VanEck Asset Management B.V., incorporated under Dutch law and registered with the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM). VanEck (Europe) GmbH with registered address at Kreuznacher Str. 30, 60486 Frankfurt, Germany, is a financial services provider regulated by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority in Germany (BaFin).
The information is intended only to provide general and preliminary information to investors and shall not be construed as investment, legal or tax advice VanEck (Europe) GmbH, VanEck Switzerland AG, VanEck Securities UK Limited and their associated and affiliated companies (together “VanEck”) assume no liability with regards to any investment, divestment or retention decision taken by the investor on the basis of this information. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) but not necessarily those of VanEck. Opinions are current as of the publication date and are subject to change with market conditions. Certain statements contained herein may constitute projections, forecasts and other forward-looking statements, which do not reflect actual results. Information provided by third party sources is believed to be reliable and have not been independently verified for accuracy or completeness and cannot be guaranteed. Brokerage or transaction fees may apply.
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