MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Twitch and mobile MOBA Vainglory developers Super Evil Megacorp have signed an investment deal to see the touchscreen eSport promoted on-site for the next three years. The game, in which teams of three players compete using touchscreen devices across a single lane MOBA map has grown throughout the last year …
Read More »‘Chinese eBay’ Alibaba announces $5.5m eSports tournament for CS:GO, others
Alibaba, the world’s largest e-commerce site, has entered the eSports arena with a $5.5m tournament to be held through their sports subsidiary Ali Sports reportedly beginning this April. The World Electronic Sports Games (WESG) will feature a $1.5m CS:GO tournament, the same for Dota 2, with a $400,000 StarCraft II …
Read More »London’s O2 plays host to $750,000 CS:GO ESL Pro League finals
London’s O2 arena will host the final stage of ESL Pro League Season 3 as eight CS:GO teams from Europe and North America compete for $750,000 prize money. The finals, taking place over the May 14-15 weekend, pit the four best European teams against their North American counterparts at the …
Read More »Newzoo report: brands to spend $325m on eSports marketing in 2016
The eSports industry will receive 70% of all revenue from sponsors and advertisers in 2016, according to a Newzoo market report. The Global Esports Market Report expects brands, like endemic sponsors EIZO to the non-endemic Coca-Cola and PepsiCo companies, to spend $325m this year. That number represents a 49% growth …
Read More »Shaq headlines latest celeb sports stars to invest in eSports team NRG
Shaquille O’Neal, the former NBA superstar, has become the latest American sports celebrity to put their money into their electronic counterparts. Joined by baseball players Alex "A-Rod" Rodriguez and Jimmy Rollins, the three were part of last week’s financial round for eSports team NRG. NRG fields a League of Legends …
Read More »Casters boycott LoL tournament until Riot increases freelance pay rates
Multiple freelance League of Legends casters have signed an open letter announcing their boycotting of the Mid-Season International over pay rates. Christopher MonteCristo” Mykles, Erik "DoA" Lonnquist, and Chris PapaSmithy” Smith were invited by Riot to cast the event, to take place in Shanghai this May, but turned down the …
Read More »Pepsi introduces new iced tea brand as OpTic Gaming headline sponsors
As new product line launches go, this is surely a first. PepsiCo, inc. has announced the newest drink in its Brisk iced tea range will become the title sponsor of eSports team OpTic Gaming. Brisk Mate (intended to be pronounced Mah-tay after the South American drink Yerba Mate but let’s …
Read More »Microsoft teams up with ESL for eSports platform on Xbox, Windows
Microsoft has enlisted the help of ESL to produce a standardised tournament system for Xbox Live games. The integration allows developers and publishers of games on Xbox One and Windows 10 to more easily organise competitions on the platforms. Games using the new system are currently ‘in the making’ and …
Read More »Pokken Tournament puts up $100,000 for Pokemon fighters
The Pokemon Company has put $100,000 behind an eSports circuit for 3-D fighter Pokken Tournament due out on March 18. The Pokken Tournament Championship Series will offer events for players to compete at throughout the year, including the upcoming CEO and EVO Championship events in North America. Competitors will be …
Read More »Dota’s next Manila Major announced as Shanghai continues to disappoint, baffle
Valve have announced details of the next stop on their seasonal Majors tour, with Manila’s Mall of Asia playing host to a second Dota 2 tournament of the year. The Manila Major will take place over June 7-12, two months after ESL One Manila hosts another premier Dota tournament in …
Read More »