A new form of sport is on the horizon. The Phygital Games of the Future 2025 concluded its six-day event on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, UAE. This year's event featured a total of 11 games, including phygital football and basketball, drawing more than 2,000 players from around the world.

Phygital games combine both physical and digital elements. For instance, in phygital football, players first engage in an e-sport version of the game, and then they must transition to a physical football field to play a real match.

The momentum of this new trend is strong. Third-party research indicates that the global phygital games market is projected to exceed $2 billion by 2025, with expectations of growing to over $5.5 billion by 2029, showcasing double-digit growth rates. Industry insiders express significant optimism about the future of these sports.

There's little doubt that when you examine the e-sports market, it's constantly and rapidly growing. According to Nis Hatt, CEO of Phygital International, the future will bring further advancements and developments for this field of sports.

The momentum for the Chinese market, the world's second-largest economy with a population of 1.4 billion, is also robust. According to Cui Kai, the representative of the global phygital community in China, phygital games hold immense potential, although they are still in the early stages of development in the country. The annual growth rate is expected to be between 20% and 30%, with the market size projected to reach between 30 and 50 billion yuan within the next three to five years.

Phygital games offer a dual experience of enjoyment for both the audience and participants. Players no longer have to choose between e-sports and physical sports; they can now enjoy the best of both worlds simultaneously.