Overall, much of the general media reports on gaming and esports during the pandemic glorified surges in player and viewer statistics (e.g., Geyser, 2021) or entire video gaming industry sales (e.g., Dealessandri, 2021) with little attention to the objective economic impact of COVID-19 lockdown regulations on companies within the esports ecosystem. For example, as early as May 2020, economic journalist Stefan Brambilla Hall reported that the COVID-19 pandemic "is taking esports to the next level" (Brambilla Hall, 2020). Likewise, in France, the media narrative was similar. For instance, in March 2020, Le Midi Libre headline read "E-sport, the big winner of this crisis" (Gounel, 2020), while in July 2020, Europe 1 titled its column La Rétro Sport: "E-Sport, the lockdown’s big winner" (Europe 1, 2020). Therefore, from an outside perspective, it may be believed that the video gaming and esports industry thrived during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns due the capacity for online gaming at home (i.e., social distancing) and the enhanced media attention. However, little attention was paid to actual economic ramifications of the pandemic, particularly with mid-size and smaller esports-related companies. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the pandemic’s economic impact on the esports industry, taking into account varying types of stakeholders (i.e., primary esports activities performed, legal status, business size), using France as a case example. Guiding research questions included: What were the economic consequences of the pandemic upon the esports market? Did the additional media exposure that esports received during the prime pandemic period (i.e., March 2020 to February 2021) have a positive effect upon esports market revenue? Has the pandemic had the same or varied impact on the different types of esports stakeholders, based upon their activities, legal status, or size? While these questions may apply globally, this study targeted impacts specifically within the French esports ecosystem. France holds a unique presence in the global esports ecosystem: Some of the biggest global video game publishers and console providers headquartered or have branch offices in France, (e.g., Ubisoft, Riot Games, Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard, Microsoft Xbox, and Sony PlayStation); plethora of French esports organizations (e.g., Vitality, Karmine Corp., LDLC OL), tournaments organizers (e.g., Webedia, Gozulting), as well as a well-developed non-profit esports ecosystem (e.g., Futurolan, Lyon Esport, 3 Hit Combo) reside in France for more than twenty years; local public authorities and the French government have supported esports legislative, economic, and social development since the 2016 law for a Digital Republic (Vansyngel et al., 2018). As a result, France is now one of the major esports markets of Europe, alongside Great Britain, Germany, Sweden and Denmark. To evaluate the economic impact of the health crisis on the French esports sector, a targeted online survey was conducted via purposive sampling method, disseminated both by email and social media networks among French esports industry stakeholders (e.g., esports clubs or teams, event organizers, equipment manufacturers, service providers, agencies, and specialized media). This 10-question quantitative survey mostly centered on items relating to estimated losses and gains in revenue, with additional demographic questions centering on the legal status of the organization, the number of Full-time Equivalent (FTE) positions (i.e., company size), and the main esports-related business activities provided. Data collection was conducted via Google Forms over two time periods, while data analysis (i.e., flat and cross sorting as well as descriptive statistics) were performed using Microsoft Excel. Results (n = 86 complete responses) indicated the vast majority of the sample (89.5%; n = 77) reporting that the health crisis had a negative impact on their income. Strikingly, nearly one third of respondents (32.6%; n = 28) estimated their losses to be more than 50% of their typical pre-pandemic revenues, primarily impacting companies with fewer employees (i.e., smaller companies). Conversely, only 4.7% of respondents (n = 4) reported that the pandemic positively impacted revenues. Overall, findings demonstrated an estimated French esports industry loss of revenue between 13% and 26% compared to the previous year. This study’s results confirm, to some extent, other findings observed in Spain where esports industry losses were estimated at 23% for 2020, or more than 8 million euros within the Spanish esports market estimated at 27 million euros (Asociación Española de Videojuegos, 2020). Moreover, these results correspond with the data from the esports market research institute Newzoo (October 2020 Update), which reported that for the first time since the banking and financial crisis of 2008, the global esports market experienced an economic regression (i.e., minus 1.1% in 2020 compared to 2019). Findings indicated these reported massive losses may be explained by: 1) the multiple cancellations or postponements of (inter)national esports in-person events within France and surrounding regions that could have resulted in a lack of ticketing and other on-site revenues; and, 2) the suspension or postponement of economic partnership agreements (e.g., sponsorship) with teams or tournament organizers. Contrary to appearances, the organization of exclusively online competitions, although particularly beneficial for the visibility of the esports sector, does not appear to be a sustainable solution. This presentation will discuss lessons learned from this study that may facilitate the economic sustainability of the global esports industry and related stakeholders.