FIFA is inviting bids for its esports competitions throughout 2018, according to ESPN. The org previously announced a partnership with EA Sports to stage a “global series” that will culminate in the FIFA eWorld Cup next summer that will see 32 players compete for the title, a large cash prize and a trip to next year’s the Best FIFA Football Awards.
Professional poker player Fedor Holz has invested in Envy Gaming, Inc., the parent company of TeamEnvyUs and their Overwatch League brand, the Dallas Fuel, according to esportsinsider.com. Holz, 24, is the highest-earning German poker player in history, with almost $27 million in winnings over the past five years.
Manchester City doubled the size of its esports roster, inking professional FIFA player Marcus ‘ExpectSporting’ Jorgesen to the club where he joins Kieran ‘Kez’ Brown. Brown will play in the Xbox One side of tournaments while Jorgesen will be City’s PlayStation 4 player.
The University of Akron announced its entry into the varsity esports world via its Zips Gaming program that will launch in the fall of 2018. According to reports, a projected 35 to 40 students will officially represent the university in intercollegiate competitions for League of Legends, Hearthstone, Rocket League and Overwatch. Merit scholarships will be given to both these players and their student coaching staff, starting at $1,000 for the former and up to $5,000 for the latter.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds continues to notch new records, passing three million concurrent users on Steam – more than four times the amount of people playing the number two game on the platform in Dota 2. Meanwhile, PUBG Corporation CEO Chang Han Kim said in an interview with Inven Global that the company is looking to leverage the title as a “universal media franchise. “We want to take part in diverse industries including Esports, movies, drama, cartoons, animation, and more,” he said. “In fact, we received a couple of love calls from a number of developers in Hollywood and Netflix. Our dream is to build a new game-based culture through various ways like this, and have the lead of that culture.”
Nintendo is looking to approach 40 million units of the Switch console sales by the end of the next fiscal year, according to company president Tatsumi Kimishima in an interview with the Kyoto Shimbun. He notes that the company will look to sell 20 million units in fiscal 2018 alone, noting that the Switch’s performance has exceeded company expectations.
Rocket League has its own celebrations for 2018, announcing that the game now boasts 40 million players worldwide since its launch in 2015.
Microsoft pulled the plug on production of the Kinect Adapter, the company confirmed to Polygon. “After careful consideration, we decided to stop manufacturing the Xbox Kinect Adapter to focus attention on launching new, higher fan-requested gaming accessories across Xbox One and Windows 10,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement to Polygon.
POWER PLAYERS-Hi-Rez Studios
As Hi-Rez Studios prepares for its annual gathering in Atlanta, complete with cosplay and competition, Cynopsis Esports caught up with company marketer Andee Cantatore to break down how they are leveraging the event and its esports to boost the brand and game sales.
On Hi-Rez Expo: Hi-Rez Expo is a four day immersive experience for fans of Hi-Rez titles. It’s a gathering of around 3,000 super fans of SMITE and Paladins. The cosplay, the showroom floor, the esports are all dedicated to Hi-Rez Games. Players get to meet other dedicated SMITE and Paladins fans from all over the world. At most cons, the SMITE and Paladins fans feel like they are in the minority. But HRX is a weekend dedicated entirely to our gaming community.
On lessons learned: Our biggest strategy for engaging fans at HRX is attending the event ourselves! All of our 400+ employees are encouraged to attend the event and meet the players of our games. Fans can meet our on-screen personalities, stand in the food truck line with our developers, and get in lengthy meta discussions with our pro players. HRX really breaks down that barrier between studio and players. This is our 4th annual esports event, and it evolves every year. We’ve added a second stage, a huge free-play area, and an opening keynote address. We have definitely learned that people at home want to see the new game content we announce at the expo! We will live stream a keynote address right after doors open this year, at 9:15 AM EST on twitch.hireztv.
On esports: Esports is the best way to spread the word about our titles! We see a measurable spike in the number of new players trying our titles during esports events. It’s also the best way to show the full potential of our games. Pro players really are an elite group of gamers who come up with game-play strategies that the devs never even thought of. They shape the upcoming seasons of each game and influence balance by showing us new possibilities.
