Dignitas named Caffeine, the social broadcasting platform, as its exclusive broadcast partner. Through a multi-year partnership, all official Dignitas team-focused content will be exclusively live streamed on Caffeine and the pair will now produce original digital series that highlight popular teams, including Dignitas’ World Championship-winning Rocket League and female Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) teams. Caffeine will also become the official broadcasting partner for Dignitas’ upcoming influencer initiative that will produce original content and live shows for leading influencers at the confluence of gaming and pop culture.
League of Legends Esports unveiled Pro View, a new premium viewing experience that will be available for the Summer Split of the LCS & LEC and allow fans to spectate the individual players of their choice during competitive League of Legends matches. Revenue from Pro View will be shared with partnered teams competing in the leagues. Additional features within the Pro View Package include:
- Multiview: Watch up to four synchronized streams (POV or main event) at once during live games and VODs
- Advanced Timeline: Kills, tower takedowns and other big plays are marked right on the timeline, and clicking a marker jumps to that moment in the game
- Watch With Friends: Share a personalized Pro View URL to synchronize your timeline with friends
WorldGaming Network announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with SCENE, Canada’s largest entertainment rewards program. Beginning June 28, SCENE members can earn more points by participating in weekly esports and video gaming tournaments hosted through WorldGaming Network’s online platform. The tournaments will enable gamers to compete for a weekly prize pool of up to 50,000+ SCENE points, which can be redeemed for a variety of great rewards, including movies at their local Cineplex theatre. “We are proud to run the world’s leading grassroots competitive gaming tournaments and content platform, and our new partnership with SCENE helps us build on our existing success,” says Wim Stocks, CEO and General Manager, WorldGaming Network. “Esports and competitive gaming is becoming more and more mainstream, appealing to a broad base of gaming enthusiasts, and we are excited to extend our platform to the over 9 million SCENE members across the country.”
100 Thieves made its pickup of popular content creator Jack “CouRage” Dunlop official, where he will now join Nadeshot and Valkyrae in the newly sponsored Cash App Content House LA, which will be the filming location for two new shows coming in June: The CouRage & Nadeshot Show and Nadeshot’s video podcast, Self-Made. The CouRage & Nadeshot Show, presented by Cash App, will showcase the creative side of the former pro players and premieres in June. The show will feature a diverse list of content creators and entertainers as guests, including Valkyrae, Pokimane, and more. Nadeshot’s video podcast Self-Made, presented by Rocket Mortgage, will be focused on him as a CEO and his entrepreneurial spirit. Self-Made will also premiere in June and will feature high-profile guests including Hecz, iJustine, and more.
Mike Tyson is now the latest celebrity to jump into the world of esports, with the former world heavyweight champion’s company Tyson Ranch locking in a substantial investment in the esports team Fade 2 Karma. The F2K-TR partnership will include a fully dedicated streaming facility that is currently under construction in El Segundo, titled “The Ranch House” that will include include private streaming rooms; a performance stage for tournaments; content production; a DJ booth for events that will utilize the facility’s rooftop party deck; high-speed fiber optic cable and video screens.
OverActive Media added the Madrid-based, MAD Lions Esports Club under its umbrella. The purchase of the MAD Lions E.C. establishes the OAM headquarters for its European and Latin American Team Operations facility in Madrid. OAM now owns 15 teams in seven different countries, including the three major franchised leagues.
With EA Play just over a week away, Electronic Arts announced plans to offer three hours of live stream content on June 8, featuring news, gameplay and insights from six of the company’s biggest franchises, starting at 9:15a. Titles will include: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, hosted by Greg Miller and Andrea Rene; Apex Legends, hosted by Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez; Battlefield V, hosted by Julia Hardy and EA’s Adam Freeman; EA SPORTS FIFA, hosted by Mendez, EA Sports Madden NFL, hosted by NFL Network’s Adam Rank; and The Sims 4, hosted by Rene.
The Entertainment Software Association called on World Health Organization Member States to rethink their decision to include “Gaming Disorder” in the 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases, stating “The WHO is an esteemed organization and its guidance needs to be based on regular, inclusive, and transparent reviews backed by independent experts. ‘Gaming disorder’ is not based on sufficiently robust evidence to justify its inclusion in one of the WHO’s most important norm-setting tools.”
Microsoft added enhancements to its standard Xbox Developer Kit designed to support streaming and Project xCloud, per a new post on Microsoft Wire. “The power of Project xCloud – the seamless compatibility for developers and the new places to play for gamers – comes from Azure datacenters spanning the globe, with hardware that shares a common set of components with our Xbox consoles,” read the statement. “We’ve already deployed our custom Project xCloud blades to datacenters across 13 Azure regions with an initial emphasis on proximity to key game development centers in North America, Asia and Europe. Leading global development teams such as Capcom and Paradox Interactive now have the ability to easily test their games directly from Project xCloud without having to port to a new platform.”
Gamescom organizers announced plans to head to Asia for a new convention taking place Oct. 15-18 at the Suntec Singapore Convention Center. Gamescom Asia will be split into industry and public days with an eye to host esports events, cosplay celebrations and more.
Call of Duty fans will finally uncover the name of the next title today at noon. Activision teased the announcement on social media with all of the official Call of Duty social media accounts changing their images from Black Ops 4 to a black-and-white CoD logo, and apparently teasing the next version of the game by putting “Going Dark” in their respective account bios.
Overwatch League Commissioner Nate Nanzer is moving from Junkertown to Junk Junction, announcing his departure from Activision Blizzard this week, while Epic Games confirmed to media that he would join their company to oversee esports for its games, including Fortnite. “Hey Overwatch League family,” Nanzer posted on Twitter on Friday. “I wanted to share that soon I will be leaving Blizzard for a new opportunity. This has been the toughest decision of my life, because it means I won’t get to work with the best staff, players, teams, owners, partners, and fans in esports anymore. I can’t emphasize enough how proud I am of what we’ve all accomplished together. It has been the honor of my life to have been part of the team that helped build the league of #breakthrough, #BurnBlue, #pdomjnate, #CaptureHistory, #OWL2019, and many more.” Pete Vlastelica, who oversees all of Activision Blizzard’s esports products, will step in as Nanzer’s replacement.
Gaming influencers P2istheName, Jason Mewes, The Warp Zone, EwokTTV, Datto, and ReviewTechUSA have signed with Abrams Artists Agency’s Gaming & Esports department under the Alternative Programing, Digital Media, Branding & Licensing Division. “The Abrams Artists Agency gaming department under the Alternative Programing, Digital Media, Branding & Licensing Division is continuing to boom with a wave of impressive newcomers and well-established influencers in the world of esports and gaming,” said Brian Cho, President and COO. “With the addition of these power players, it will allow the agency to help take them to new levels and further build their individual brands through new and exciting opportunities.”
