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Are you ready for the esports revolution?

Even during COVID-19 lockdown, and in some cases because of it, the investment in esports continued to see high profile development in Japan, America and Europe, as well as numerous other countries.

Image courtesy of iStock

August 10, 2020 by Kevin Williams

Esports continues to surge worldwide, the coronavirus and unsettling global politics nothwithstanding.

The investment towards developing more areas to promote esports was underpinned with news that OverActive Media, a global esports and entertainment company that fields teams across multiple titles through its subsidiaries, including the Overwatch League and Call of Duty League, has secured funds to build a 10,000-seat venue at the Toronto Exhibition Place. The new arena will become the permanent home for several of the area's established leagues. These include the Overwatch League, Call of Duty League, which are owned by OverActive, the Toronto Defiant and Toronto Ultra.

The drive to create dedicated esports venues also continued with news from China regarding what is claimed to be the world's largest esports stadium. Started by gaming equipment manufacturer E-Blue Gaming, the plan is to build a 700-seat stadium with six different streaming stages. The facility is part of a theme park resort, including 12 e-gaming attractions and a 160-bed hotel complex. The term "world's largest" is one that is bandied around freely in the esports scene.

Even during COVID-19 lockdown, and in some cases because of it, the investment continues to see high profile development in Japan, America and Europe, as well as other countries.

With the lockdown measures and suspension of live sports until recently, investment has also turned to secure control of the key elements of the esports business: streaming, organizing and playing. This was illustrated with the news that Sony had invested some $250 million in the development of the phenomenally popular Battle Royale game "Fortnite," owned by Epic Games.

Streaming game experiences and competition will be vital to the success of the new Sony Playstation5 console to be launched this year.

VR also drives esports

Attempts to roll VR into esports has been championed in location based entertainment and consumer VR deployment. One of those establishing a foothold is the League of International VR Esports, with the operation announcing the launch of tournament events. The first is the "2 v 2Skyfront Tournament," which began in July.

Not to be outdone, Italian sports car manufacturer Ferrari launched a simulation racing series that they intend to take internationally. Called "The Ferrari Hublot Esports Series," the event will partner with Swiss watch manufacturer Hublot as a sponsor, alongside computer peripheral manufacturer Thrustmaster. Ferrari will invite 24 esports racers to the "Pro" series, and the 12 fastest players in each category will compete in four races in October of this year.

This marks the second time that Ferrari has invested in esports, having signed in 2019 as part of the "F1 esports Series."

Stumbles along the way

More recently, Riot Games, developer of the "League of Legend" and supporter of LEC eSports competition, terminated a partnership with the Saudi Arabian NEOM project, a mutli-billion-dollar project to develop a futuristic city. Riot Games backed out due to a massive backlash from the LEC community about the human right violations associated with the project.

The Riot Games agreement was part of a major move by the developers of NEOM to turn the project into an esports regional hub, already signing BLAST, the Copenhagen based global esports tournament, to manage and organize future esports tournaments. The first segment of the NEOM project is scheduled for completion in 2025.

Setbacks will happen, but the long-term trend is positive.

(Editor's note: Extracts from this blog are from recent coverage in The Stinger Report, published by KWP and its director, Kevin Williams, the leading interactive out-of-home entertainment news service covering the immersive frontier and beyond.)

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About Kevin Williams

Along with advisory positions with other entrants into the market he is founder and publisher of the Stinger Report, “a-must-read” e-zine for those working or investing in the amusement, attractions and entertainment industry. He is a prolific writer and provides regular news columns for main trade publications. He also travels the globe as a keynote speaker, moderator and panelist at numerous industry conferences and events. Author of “The Out-of-Home Immersive Entertainment Frontier: Expanding Interactive Boundaries in Leisure Facilities,” the only book on this aspect of the market, with the second edition scheduled for a 2023 release.

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