A Study on China’s Esports Live Streaming Ecosystem : A Case Study of Honor of Kings Streamers on Huya and Douyin

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

With the iteration of digital technologies, the popularization of the mobile Internet, and the rapid development of the platform economy, Esports has gradually evolved from an early marginalized subculture into an emerging digital cultural industry integrating sports, entertainment, and commercial attributes. As an important communication carrier and commercialization hub of the Esports industry, Esports Live Streaming Platforms not only undertake content dissemination functions but also gradually develop into compound digital ecological spaces integrating emotional interaction, community connection, identity recognition, and value production. Against the background of the continuous expansion of China’s Esports industry and the ongoing restructuring of the platform competition pattern, the Vertical Esports Platform represented by Huya and the Pan-entertainment Platform represented by Douyin have respectively formed different platform logics, traffic mechanisms, and interaction modes, profoundly influencing streamer content production, user participation behavior, and the path of platform value realization. However, current research on Esports Live Streaming mostly focuses on macro-level issues such as industrial development, user viewing motivation, or platform business models. Micro-level research on live streaming interaction mechanisms, emotional connection processes, and the Value Co-creation relationship among platforms, streamers, and users remains relatively insufficient, especially lacking systematic comparative analysis based on ecological differences across platforms. Based on this, this study takes China’s Esports Live Streaming Ecosystem as the core research object and selects the Honor of Kings streamer group on Huya and Douyin, two representative platforms, as cases. Through a combination of Netnography and Cross-case Analysis, this study examines the operating mechanisms of the Esports Live Streaming Ecosystem under different platform logics. At the theoretical level, the study introduces Interaction Ritual Chains theory and Value Co-creation theory, constructs an analytical framework of “interaction– emotion–co-creation,” and divides live streaming interaction into four dimensions: Symbolic Interaction, Economic Interaction, Social Interaction, and Participatory Interaction, in order to explore how streamers, platforms, and users form Emotional Energy accumulation, community identity construction, and commercial value production in the process of continuous interaction. The study finds that the current Chinese Esports Live Streaming Ecosystem has gradually formed a “Dual Ecosystem Paradigm” represented by Huya and Douyin. Among them, the Huya platform presents a typical “vertical deep cultivation” model, whose core features are strong community relationships, high emotional stickiness, and deep payment logic. The platform builds a stable community order through symbolic systems such as Fan Badges, the Nobility Tier System, exclusive discourse, and Danmaku Culture. A strong emotional connection and Parasocial Relationship are formed between streamers and audiences. Users participate in interaction more through long-term companionship, identity recognition, and emotional engagement. Value Co-creation mainly depends on deep participation and continuous emotional maintenance within a stable community. In contrast, the Douyin platform presents an algorithm-driven “pan-entertainment” ecological model. It relies on the Short Video-Live Streaming Synergy mechanism and Algorithm-based Recommendation logic to achieve high-traffic diffusion and cross-circle dissemination of content. Interaction on the platform presents the characteristics of mobility, immediacy, and fragmentation. Users are more inclined to participate in live streaming through short-term emotional resonance and instant interaction, while the value realization path depends more on the large-scale monetization capability brought by traffic exposure, Brand Collaboration, and pan-entertainment communication. Further research shows that different platform technological architectures and traffic distribution mechanisms not only shape streamers’ content production modes but also profoundly affect user interaction behavior and Value Co-creation paths. The Huya platform places greater emphasis on “Follow Logic” and community sedimentation, with streamers relying on long-term stable fan operations to establish Private Domain Traffic and deep community relationships. Douyin, by contrast, emphasizes “Algorithm Logic” and content explosion, realizing the expansion of Public Domain Traffic through short video clips, hotspot dissemination, and Algorithm-based Recommendation. In this process, interaction in Esports Live Streaming is no longer merely simple information exchange, but a social process that continuously produces Emotional Energy through Mutual Focus of Attention, emotional contagion, and symbolic sharing, and further transforms it into commercial value and community cohesion. The study also finds that, while China’s Esports Live Streaming Ecosystem is developing rapidly, several prominent problems remain: first, platform barriers and circle culture lead to fragmented and exclusionary tendencies in user identity recognition, affecting cross-platform community connection; second, under the algorithmic mechanism, users’ tipping behavior is gradually separated from the basis of emotional connection, resulting in impulse consumption and emotional consumption; third, live streaming interaction tends to become superficial under the guidance of traffic, while users’ emotional relationships and sense of community belonging are relatively weakened; fourth, users’ subjectivity in content co-creation remains limited, and the feedback and incentive mechanisms of platforms and streamers for users’ participation in decision-making, content production, and User- generated Derivative Content are still incomplete. Based on the above research results, this study proposes promoting the sustainable development of the Esports Live Streaming Ecosystem by strengthening user identity recognition, optimizing emotional interaction mechanisms, improving user participation paths, and promoting the construction of platform Value Co- creation systems. Specifically, platform community culture construction and cross- platform identity recognition mechanisms should be strengthened to enhance users’ sense of community belonging; deep interaction between streamers and users should be optimized to enhance emotional connection in live streaming; a more complete user participation and content feedback mechanism should be established to enhance the audience’s subjectivity in the live streaming ecosystem; at the same time, platforms should be promoted to shift from a single traffic-oriented approach to a long-term value symbiosis orientation, thereby realizing a more stable and healthy interaction relationship among streamers, platforms, and users. The innovation of this study is mainly reflected in three aspects: First, at the theoretical level, it combines Interaction Ritual Chains theory with Value Co- creation theory and introduces them into the field of Esports Live Streaming research, constructing a comprehensive theoretical framework suitable for analyzing the digital live streaming ecosystem. Second, at the level of research methods, it adopts Netnography and case analysis, enhancing the explanatory power of the interaction mechanisms and Value Co-creation processes in the Esports Live Streaming Ecosystem through continuous observation and comparative analysis of live streaming scenes, interactive behaviors, and community culture on different platforms. Third, at the practical level, it proposes the Dual Ecosystem Paradigm of “Strong Community–Deep Monetization” and “Wide Traffic–Strong Commercialization,” providing practical references for the optimization of live streaming platform operations, streamer content development, and digital platform governance. The study argues that Esports Live Streaming is not only a digital content dissemination behavior, but also a complex social practice in which platforms, streamers, and users jointly construct emotional relationships, community culture, and value systems through interaction.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• CHAPTER 1. Introduction 1
• 1.1 Research Background 1
• 1.2 Purpose of the Study 4
• 1.3 Research Methods 5
• 1.4 Research Contents 9
• 1.5 Current Status of Domestic and International Research 13
• 1.6 Research Innovation Points 20
• 1.7 Technical Roadmap of the Paper 22
• CHAPTER 2. Theoretical Basis and Conceptual Definitions 23
• 2.1 The Concept and Characteristics of the Esports Live Streaming Ecology 23
• 2.1.1 Definition and Characteristics of Esports Live Streaming 24
• 2.1.2 Definition and Characteristics of Esports Streamers 28
• 2.2 Interaction Ritual Chains Theory 30
• 2.2.1 Definition of Interaction Ritual Chains 30
• 2.2.2 Elements of Interaction Ritual Chains 33
• 2.3 Value Co-creation Theory 37
• 2.3.1 Definition of Value Co-creation 37
• 2.3.2 Elements of Value Co-creation 38
• CHAPTER 3. Ecological Forms and Trends of China’s esports Game Live Streaming 44
• 3.1 The Formation and Development of esports Game Live Streaming 44
• 3.1.1 Trends in Stage-based Development Characteristics 45
• 3.1.2 Market Size and User Growth 51
• 3.1.3 Content Ecology and Current Status of Streamers 57
• 3.2 The Development Status of China’s esports Game Live Streaming 61
• 3.2.1 Market Size and the Development of esports Game Live Streaming 62
• 3.2.2 Technological Innovation Drives Experience Upgrading 64
• 3.2.3 Operational Forms and Content Development of esports live streaming . 66
• 3.2.4 Audience Interaction Needs and Behavior 71
• CHAPTER 4. Case Analysis of Chinese esports live streaming Platforms Based on Interaction Ritual Chains (IRC) 78
• 4.1 Ecological Analysis of Huya’s Honor of Kings Esports Live Streaming Ecosystem 78
• 4.1.1 Overview of Huya’s esports Live Streaming Ecosystem. 79
• 4.1.2 Symbolic Interaction—The Construction of Symbolic Carnival and Order 85
• 4.1.3 Economic Interaction—The Logic of Capital and the Monetization of Emotion 90
• 4.1.4 Social Interaction—The Warmth and Order of the Virtual Tribe 95
• 4.1.5 Participatory Interaction—the Logic of Value Co-creation and the Production of Emotional Energy 98
• 4.2 Ecological Analysis of Douyin’s Honor of Kings esports Live Streaming Ecosystem 101
• 4.2.1 Overview of Douyin’s esports Live Streaming Ecosystem 101
• 4.2.2 Symbolic Interaction—Fluid Symbols and Algorithmic Complicity 105
• 4.2.3 Economic Interaction—Instant Transactions and Algorithmic Monetization 109
• 4.2.4 Social Interaction—Weak Ties and Instant Resonance 112
• 4.2.5 Participatory Interaction—Algorithmic Complicity and Traffic Crowdsourcing 115
• 4.3 Problems in China’s esports Game Live Streaming Ecosystem. 118
• 4.3.1 Insufficient Symbolic Identity among Audiences 119
• 4.3.2 Unclear Audience Motivations for Virtual Gift Tipping 121
• viii
• 4.3.3 Lack of Emotional Connection in Social Interaction 124
• 4.3.4 Neglect of Content Co-creation in Participatory Interaction 128
• CHAPTER 5. Development Strategies for China’s Esports Live Streaming Ecosystem 131
• 5.1 Enhancing Audiences’ Symbolic Identity 131
• 5.1.1 Fan Badge Identity Markers and Level Symbols 131
• 5.1.2 Understanding danmaku Content Types and Functions 135
• 5.1.3 Emoticon-based Emotional Communication and Community Identity Symbols 139
• 5.2 Clarifying Audience Tipping Motivation 142
• 5.2.1 Clarifying the Gift Type System and Value Levels 143
• 5.2.2 Type Analysis and Differentiation of Tipping Motivation 146
• 5.2.3 Attention to High-Value Tipping Behavior by Whales 149
• 5.3 Emotional Establishment in social interaction 152
• 5.3.1 Deep Reconstruction of Direct Interaction Between Streamers and Audiences 153
• 5.3.2 Deep Construction of Horizontal Interaction Among Audiences 156
• 5.3.3 Systematic Construction of Fan Community Activity Operation 159
• 5.4 Emphasizing Audience Participatory Interactive Content Co-creation 162
• 5.4.1 Audience Participation in Live Streaming Content Planning to Achieve Content Co-creation 163
• 5.4.2 Breaking the Wall and Symbiosis—Deep Reconstruction of In-game Interaction and Team Co-creation in esports live streaming 165
• 5.4.3 The Transfer of Power and Co-governance—Mechanism Construction for Audience Interaction Affecting Decision-making 168
• CHAPTER 6. Conclusion 171
• 6.1 Research Summary 171
• 6.2 Research Limitations 180
• 6.3 Research Prospects 181
• References 186
• 국문초록 192