Overwatch League is beefing up its content offering courtesy of the Overwatch League All-Access Pass on Twitch. Viewers who purchase the pass will be given access to the Overwatch League Command Center, which will offer a second stream during matches with player POVs, alternate in-game camera angles, backstage cameras, and real-time stats. In addition, passholders will receive behind-the-scenes video content. On Twitch, viewers who purchase the all-access pass will receive exclusive global emotes, including character abilities and golden team logos, as well as a global twitch icon.
ELEAGUE is setting into reality series, serving up a five-part reality show, ELEAGUE The Challenger: Street Fighter V, starting April 20 at 11p on TBS. The series will follow seven players who will live in an Atlanta-area house and compete in SFV: Jonathan “JB” Bautista, Leah “Gllty” Hayes, Sherry Nhan, Jesse “Commander Jeese” Espinoza, Rob “RobTV” Burney, Jayce “BigBossDayasha” Alexander and Dalauan “Low Tier God” Sparrow. They will take on unique “Challenge” activities and the last person remaining will earn a spot in ELEAGUE’s upcoming Street Fighter V Invitational 2018. Steve “Tasty Steve” Scott and Stephen “Sajam” Lyon co-host.
Speaking of which, ELEAGUE staple Richard Lewis announced his departure from the organization following a two-year run as desk host. He posted that he had decided to pursue additional opportunities in the esports industry that extend beyond full-time hosting. “I’m proud of what we achieved at ELEAGUE and I’ve really enjoyed working with the dedicated people at Turner and IMG,” he wrote. “I hope I get to come back and work with them in future. For now though, it’s time for a change. I will elaborate more on what comes next in the not too distant future but for now I hope everyone will join me in continuing to support ELEAGUE as it helps propel esports into the mainstream. See you all soon.”
Cinedigm detailed plans for the launch of the free 24/7 digital-first gaming and esports-centered WHAM Network, which is now running across XUMO, Twitch, and web and mobile devices. Programming includes original content such as UMG Gaming – showcasing thousands of hours of game tournaments and highlights; Clip Blip’ and esports Central Live, broadcasting esports news, industry developments, new releases, and tournament results live from WHAM’s studio in Las Vegas. For more on the platform, see our Q&A below.
Red Bull announced a new travel and lifestyle streaming series, Game Changers, featuring Twitch personality and Hearthstone player Reynad, who trek across Europe as part of Red Bull’s “Can You Make It?” challenge. Episodes will air on Reynad’s Twitch channel.
DreamHack and Challengermode, a digital arena for competitive gaming, are partnering to “enhance competitive gaming, from the grassroots level to top tier esports events around the world and online.” DreamHack and Challengermode have previously worked together at DreamHack festivals in Sweden, but are now extending the partnership to cover all of Europe and North America, including DreamHack’s operations within Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS, and League of Legends. Challengermode will be the only tournament platform used for DreamHack competitions in in those titles listed above and the companies will actively work together to integrate more games during the partnership.
A report from MarketWatch stated that Grand Theft Auto V, which has topped 90 million sales worldwide and $6 billion in revenue, now ranks as the “most financially successful media title of all time,” topping all films and other entertainment products, even adjusted for inflation.
Gamer chat platform Discord revealed findings from a national survey to help provide insights into the interests and social habits of a generation of teen gamers. The Discord survey, conducted online by DKC Analytics in February, discovered a transitional shift in online communication preferences. Takeaways include: Gaming is the New Social Network for Teens as direct chat outpaced posting on social media by a healthy 18% margin, and three quarters of respondents (70%) chat with their friends and/or fellow gamers while playing video games. In addition, more than half of teens (53%) reported watching esports events, while 38% of teens surveyed didn’t watch any real-world sports during the survey period, not even this year’s Super Bowl.
The Entertainment Software Association is looking to block recent moves to strike down net neutrality, joining the lawsuit against the FCC, according to The Hill, and noting that “fast, reliable and low latency connections… are critical to the video games industry.” The org noted that “In particular, broadband providers are now permitted to engage in practices that degrade consumers’ traffic. That, in turn, could have significant consequences for the enjoyment of multiplayer online games and cloud-based gameplay services, both of which require low latency connections to support rapid and continuous interactivity.”
POWER PLAYERS – Gary Kleinman
With content and distribution plans in place, the WHAM Network opened its doors across XUMO, Twitch, and web and mobile devices, as part of a partnership with independent content distributor Cinedigm. Anchored by programming that pays homage to a love of gaming, the channel will be “devoted to providing innovative and immersive programming covering the latest in industry news and the celebrity gaming scene, and providing original series, intense esports tournaments, and in-depth coverage of live events.” Cynopsis caught up with Gary Kleinman, CEO of The Wham Network, to discuss its evolution since partnering with Cinedigm last year, Las Vegas and live events.
Kleinman on preparations: The past year has been about building out the content and the distribution platform. We have worked very diligently on the original programming and acquiring relevant licensed content, while Cinedigm went out and secured distribution for us. We are excited to look at everything gaming, whether it is competitive such as esports, which is fantastic and wonderful, to moms playing Candy Crush and how those games impact their lives. We are the bridge between gamers and those that game, which are two distinct audiences. That’s why a lot of this content that we are producing continually highlights that.
On other platforms: We also have an app called Wind, and the background for that is that I saw a listing on Craigslist about six months ago and it said that they were looking for four League of Legends to pay and have a beer. I thought to myself that there needed to be a Tinder for gamers so they can meet each other. So we created an app for ioS and Android, where you fill out a profile about the games you play, where you are, the levels that you play, etc. and the app will introduce you to somebody who mirrors your gaming habits. You can swipe left to remove them from your introductory. The app will also allow you to see games you are not aware of that will fit your gaming habits. We will be adding, at the request of our users, that ability to add a specific person for a role on a team, like a tank on League of Legends. We can also push tune-in because we know what games they like.
On Vegas as headquarters: Vegas is putting a lot of effort and energy into esports and gaming to draw Millennials. You have Allied Esports at Luxor, Caesars is doing something, MGM at Aria just announced theirs, and you have Millennial Esports has their arena downtown. We are the Switzerland of gaming and a neutral platform for all of them to distribute content. The esports live show that we are going to do, we will be doing initially from Millennial Esports, which has a phenomenal production facility. They also are into the production and development of games, so that is a smart strategic alliance for us. In addition, Vegas is the entertainment capital of the world, and there is a lot of content for athletes, artists and celebrities that game that we can utilize. So we look at Vegas as a 12-month schedule.
On developing live events vs. buying media rights: We are looking to do our own live events. One that we are going to do will be at the end of July, which will be part of an outdoor gaming festival in San Pedro that will be a co-production with the guys who produced Coachella. We’ll be announcing more as we get talent signed.
GameWorks named Michael Williams as the company’s new CEO and will oversee the planning and growth of the GameWorks locations, including the installation of dedicated esports stadium facilities to existing venues.
Kings Guard Gaming, the Sacramento Kings first esports franchise, announced that UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber will join the team as its Director of Mental Performance and Human Optimization. Urijah’s role will be to help Kings Guard players mentally and physically prepare for competition.
