Category: Esports News

Calling all gamers, it’s time to take a trip over the border to Toronto this weekend as Canada’s largest video gaming expo is on. The Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo (EGLX) starts on Friday, October 26. Video game fanatics will have unfettered three-day access to the biggest stars and latest developments in the video game world, as well as a special area for playing Fortnite to their hearts’ content.

The mega gaming expo is organized by Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. (TSXV: EGLX), the fastest-growing online community of video gamers. Their last event in March 2018 saw some 25,000 gaming nerds gather together for an intense session of gaming fun and competition.

This October’s event will take place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and will provide center-stage for the World Electronic Sports Games (WESG) operated by WorldGaming Network and Alisports (a division of Alibaba).

$150,000 Worth of Prize Money on the Table

Canadian finalists will be able to play for $150,000 in prize money and even be in with a chance of representing Canada at the WESG Global Grand Finals in Shanghai next year.

The jam-packed weekend event will also include some of the largest esports competitions in Canada. And for those Fortnite addicts out there, you’ll be able to play throughout the weekend in the Free Play Area, where you can also win various prizes.

If that wasn’t enough to get you buying your bus, train, or plane ticket to the land of maple syrup, there will also be a special Nintendo booth where attendees will have an exclusive chance to play Nintendo’s latest game, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, before its release. Pokemon Let’s Go will also be playable in Canada at the event for the first time.

Meet Your Gaming Idols at EGLX

Expo guests will also be able to meet and even play with their favorite celebrities from the gaming world. Some of the most notable avid gamers of sporting fame include Toronto Maple Leafs Mitch Marner, who will be playing Fortnite on the Bell Main Stage on Sunday, October 28.

Also making an appearance at the expo are PlayLine.com founder Michael Bisping and 2x NBA Allstar Roy Hibbert. Naomi Kyle of Everybody Games, the Heads-Up Daily team, and Nick Scarpino and Greg Miller of Kinda Funny will also be present to meet fans and sign autographs, as well as challenge them at their favorite esports games.

On top of that, the Toronto Overwatch team will be making a special announcement and making public their latest signings of key players as well as their newest branding on the main stage on Saturday, October 27.

CEO of Enthusiast Menashe Kestenbaum said:

“We created EGLX to provide a platform and foster an environment where all gamers, families, and friends can come together and celebrate some of their favorite aspects of gaming… We’re looking forward to welcoming our largest crowd of attendees and exhibitors yet.”

To get your ticket or any extra info, check out EGLX.ca.

Deathly screams are ringing out today as news of the new Fortnite Halloween update aptly named ‘Fortnitemares’ has just been launched. If it’s scary how immensely-popular the game already was with gamers of all ages, the ghoulish new update will frighten you to death.

The Fortnite Halloween update was released on Wednesday and will be a limited-time feature that is offering new spooky challenges, wicked weaponry and ghostly new outfits that will suck the blood from your already-decrepit corpse.

Hellish Fun with the Fortnite Halloween Update

The Fortnite world is buzzing this week as Fortnitemares makes a return to a game console near you. Fortnitemares first aired last October for Halloween and is back bigger, better and bloodier than ever before.

The Fortnite Halloween update has some really cool features such as cube fragments from the “Fortnite: Battle Royal” spawning into cube monsters that offer loot features such as extra shields when you kill a monster. You can unlock some unique and exclusive Halloween content when destroying the cube monsters.

New Deadfire Fortnite Skin Outfit

If you’re a Fortnite skin collector, the most desirable new feature on the Fortnite Halloween update will be the new Deadfire skin which will apparently shift appearance during mid-March depending on your performance on the game.

If you build up lots of damages and survives from your battle royals, the Deadfire skin will change to a scary specter phantom.

The Deadfire skin and outfit come equipped with a wide range of new features such as the “Dark Shard” pickaxe, and the Shackled Stone Back Bling backpack, which will tickle the fancy of the most hardened Fortnite player.

If you’re the sort of person who likes to obliterate your competition to smithereens, other earth-shattering weaponry available via the update are the six-shooter high caliber pistol, a crossbow, and the pumpkin launcher.

Updates to ‘Fortnite: Save the World’

The new Fortnite Halloween update will also include additions to the paid mode of the game, ‘Fortnite: Save the World’. Paid players will be happy to see the return of Hexsylvania from last year’s Fortnitemares, which is a special zone that has a new set of Vlad Moon Rising objectives.

The upgrade to the paid version of Fortnite will also have a new narrative that is different from last year’s version and seven event-specific heroes from the 2017 Fortnitemares game.

The “Save the World” version is also now on offer with a 50% discount until November 6 if you don’t already have the campaign mode.

The new Fortnite Halloween update won’t be around for long, so make sure you get on there now or you might wake up to a chorus of zombie flesh eaters.

Featured image from Fortnite Insider.

The fast-growing eSports industry, which is likely to generate nearly a billion dollars of revenue this year, has created a group of the highest performing companies worth over $1.5 billion.

The world’s most valuable eSports company, US-based Cloud9 is worth $310 million.

Most of these new companies have emerged in the last 5-10 years. eSports gained a hold in the video game industry in around 2010 and has thousands of professional gamers playing strategy, shooting and fighting games.

eSports has an audience of millions, expected to reach 427 million by 2019, who watch players and tournaments on streaming platforms such as YouTube and Twitch.

The eSports industry took a step closer to the world of real sports when Riot Games began selling League of Legends franchises for $10 million each in 2017. Activision Blizzard also sold franchises for Overwatch League for $20 million.

Traditional sports legends like Magic Johnson have even bought franchises. Now such operations are worth far more, League of Legends franchises are currently in the region of $50 million, and Overwatch between $60-$80 million.

Activision Blizzard signed a deal with Disney in July 2018, to broadcast the Overwatch League on mainstream television including on channels ESPN and Disney XD.

The eSports Market – Statistics Roundup

• Estimated audience by 2019 – 427 million
• Estimated revenue in 2018 – $906 billion, a growth of 38% from last year
• Estimated revenue in 2021 – $1.65 billion
• Largest revenue stream – sponsorship at an expected $359 million in 2018 and expected to rise to $1 billion by 2020
• Expected advertising revenue in 2018 – $174 million
• Expected media rights revenue in 2018 – $161 million, expected to grow to $320 million by 2021
• Expected game publishing fees in 2018 – $116 million. Merchandising and tickets $96 million
• Biggest Star in 2018 – Tyler Blevins “Ninja” who has 19 million subscribers to his YouTube channel and an estimated net worth of $6 million
• Capital investment deals into eSports in 2018 to date – $2.34 billion an increase from $1.53 billion in 2017 and from just $34 million in 2008

Most Valuable eSports Companies to Date

The top ten eSports companies on the following table by Forbes are worth a combined $1.58 billion. Cloud9, worth $310 million, is set to earn $22 million in 2018 from its team’s success in games like League of Legends and Fortnite.

 

Forbes combined the list from expert information and opinion, Pitchbook and public filings, and information on capital deals. The list only includes gaming companies and not game publishers or arena builders.

These new companies have quickly morphed into deal makers like their equivalents in the traditional sports sector. Players are hired and changed daily, funding rounds are underway and sponsorship deals are growing rapidly.

eSports companies have to move quickly as new games emerge and others go out of favor and their eSports teams are trained and coached like any other sports players.

eSports is an emerging industry, set for massive growth and already delivering that growth to the innovative companies that have quickly adopted its potential. In comparison, and as a clue to the potential of the sector, the global traditional sports industry is worth as $450 billion.

Just last week Nike sponsored its first eSports player, League of Legends gamer “Uzi.” The value of the deal has yet to be revealed.

Featured image www.ign.com.

When it comes to the tech industry, it’s no secret that women are grossly underrepresented. Something like 15% of all tech jobs are held by women. While we can delve into the various probable causes, perhaps it’s more valuable to look at how to get more girls in STEM subjects moving forward.

According to one study by the University of Surrey, the answer lies in video games.

More Playing Equals More Girls in STEM Subjects

So there you go young students! The next time your parents try to snatch your console or iPad out of your hands and tell you to hit the books, you have actual statistics on your side. Playing video games makes you three times more likely to study STEM subjects later on. Which means you’re three times more likely to be a tech billionaire or self-made billionaire by the time you’re 30.

According to the study, girls who identify themselves as gamers are more naturally drawn to STEM subjects. And this could be the key to closing the gender gap in the leadership and development of these industries moving forward. So, if you’re a closest Fortnite fan, you can now officially chalk your game time up to advancing your technology education.

To qualify as a “heavy gamer,” girls polled of the ages between 13-14 (apparently the appropriate age to have a significant effect over which degrees teenagers will pursue) must play over nine hours of video games each week. Yikes. So, it might affect their career choice but it won’t do their social development any good. No wonder techies are such nerds.

Researchers at the Universty of Surrey also looked at the opposite: how many women in the STEM subjects considered themselves gamers. They found that nearly all of them identified themselves as such. Jackpot! Of note is that the same could not be said for men.

The study lead was Surrey University Director of Ph.D. in Higher Education, Anesa Hosein, who identifies herself as a “geek girl” gamer. She said:

“Our research shows that those who study PTSEM subjects at degree level are more likely to be gamers, so we need to encourage the girl gamers of today to become the engineering and physics students and pioneers of tomorrow.”

A Tectonic Shift in Video Game Design As Well

It’s not only the STEM subjects that stand to benefit from more females gamers. In fact, many video game designers have been working with false assumptions. They wrongly thought that just 5% of gamers were women. But according to an ESA report, as much as 45% of women now play video games either regularly or frequently.

Choice of games unsurprisingly differs. Women may shy away from shooting or tactical games, but they drift toward interactive drama games, RPGs (roleplaying games), and survivals. A rise in female game designers would almost certainly appeal to the rising segment, making a win-win situation all around.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

eSports brand sponsorship deals are on the rise. And Nike sponsors its first eSports player ever this week in an endorsement deal for the “Dribble &” campaign.

Jian “Uzi” Zihao plays League of Legends for the Chinese organization Royal Never Give Up. He’s now signed an endorsement deal with sportswear giant Nike.

The deal is part of the promotion campaign for LeBron James’ “Shut Up and Dribble” docu-series. Uzi will appear in adverts with Chinese actor Bai Jingting and James. According to reports by eSports Insider, James has helped to motivate Uzi’s gaming performance.

“Carry” on Uzi’s T-Shirt refers to the League of Legends term for when influential players “carry” their teammates to victory.

Uzi Is China’s Best Player

Uzi began his eSports career in 2012, became the Chinese League of Legends champion and qualified for the Season 3 World Championship in 2013. After many more wins and high placings nationally and internationally he’s now tipped as the most popular player in the history of League of Legends and the most iconic gaming figure in China.

He won the League of Legends Pro League in China for the first time in 2018. Uzi’s fans are hoping he’ll win the League of Legends World Championship this year which ends on November 5, 2018.

To date Uzi, aged 21, has earned $469,733 in prizes from 37 tournaments and will have as yet undisclosed earnings from sponsorship deals, appearances and other rewards for this success and fame.

His team, Royal Never Give Up announced a one-year sponsorship from Mercedes-Benz in June 2018 and in September 2018 received a one-year sponsorship from KFC. KFC is producing Royal Never Give Up branded products as a tie into the current League of Legends World Championships.

Growing Brand Sponsorship of eSports

The value of Uzi’s deal with Nike has yet to be revealed. It’s unlikely to match basketball player James lifetime endorsement deal with Nike which is predicted to pay him over $1 billion by the time he is 64.

Big brand sponsorship of eSports is growing rapidly. The estimated spend on such deals for 2017 was around $500 million and is predicted to rise to over $1 billion by 2020. The eSports global audience is expected to be 400 million strong by 2020.

As Nike sponsors its first eSports player, it’s likely taking advantage of an opportunity to reach the lucrative Chinese youth market. It could also be the beginning of the acceptance of eSports as part of the world of sports.

Opinion is divided on this topic but a recent survey in the UK found that eSports and traditional sports are not polar opposites. The report suggested that traditional sports stakeholders’ involvement in the eSports industry will be a key impetus for the growth of the sector in 2019.

With eSports tournament prize pools offering literally millions of dollars in winnings for gamers the industry and its sponsorship deals can only grow.

Dota 2’s International 2018 tournament prize pool was over $25 million. The League of Legends World Championship 2017 awarded nearly $5 million in prizes, and Fortnite’s Fall Skirmish has a prize pool of $10 million and is underway at the moment.

Featured Image Source: Nike

Tired of making money this week? Heading to the couch to play Fortnite? To keep its millions of players occupied, Epic Games has been busy creating new Fortnite Challenges and making a few upgrades.

Fortnite Knock and Run

It’s nearly Halloween and Epic Games is building up. As well as Halloween skins, Fortnite has created Halloween Challenges. For week four of this season, six players will have to trick-or-treat to level up their battle passes by visiting houses and ringing doorbells.

The doorbell challenge is one of three free challenges for week four. Players have to be quick, landing in popular landing zones and ringing the doorbell on houses with opponents inside!

Shooting Galleries

A second of week four’s free challenges, Battle pass owners get four more, the shooting gallery challenge is a little less risky than ringing doorbells.

There are seven shooting galleries on Fortnite’s battle island, finding them is the tough part, hitting the target three times should be easy for most players.

Friday Night Fortnite

This weekend sees Fortnite’s first “Friday Night Fortnite” event on October 19, 2018. You’ll need a squad of four to compete in this challenge running from 7 pm to 11 pm, set to be a regular Friday feature for players. Prizes are points based for this one.

Fortnite Fall Skirmish Week 5

One tournament where there is real money up for grabs, week five of Fortnite’s Fall Skirmish also starts this weekend. There’s a $25,000 bonus prize for the two-player team with the highest elimination total of six regional matches and a $10,000 prize for a Fortnite Royal Flush.

The entire Fall Skirmish event has a total prize pool of $10 million and will conclude at the TwitchCon 2018 event in San Jose, California with a final grand prize of $400,000.

Battle Bus Upgrades

The Fortnite Battle Bus, delivering skydiving players to the island and into battle now moves 25% faster. It’s even quicker to get right into the fray so for serious players, more time honing those Fortnite skills in the hope of heading up the rankings.

Let’s not forget five of Fortnite’s top players have won well over a million so far. Fortnite is serious stuff, so if you’re not playing yet, well, it is the weekend.

Featured image from Epic Games.

Remember when Playstations were all the rage and joysticks ruled the roost? Not anymore. According to a recent survey by mobile app developers Tappable, some 42% of all gamers prefer smartphones. Mobiles are their first choice for gaming compared to the console at 32% or the 16% who prefer their PCs.

The survey conducted this month polled males and females on their gaming habits and the data speaks volumes. Not just about the direction of the industry, but about our changing lifestyles as well. Founder of Tappable Sam Furr said:

“Mobile gaming is the biggest category in the App Store, with approximately 75% of consumer spend coming in this category on iOS, and some sites suggesting the spend could reach $100 billion by 2020. We were not surprised people are reaching for their phones, over other ways to play games.”

Living on the Move

The findings are not unexpected considering that our lives have become increasingly mobile. Run the same survey across multiple areas and the same results are likely. People shop more on their mobiles, they bank on their mobiles and even watch full-length movies from their handhelds. Added to that, some 52.4% of all internet traffic now comes from mobile devices.

Gaming on a mobile is simply more convenient than setting up a gaming studio or having to play from a set location like your bedroom. Moreover, as video games increasingly reward players with prize money, gaming on the go gives them a chance to monetize their time while riding on the subway.

While some 40% of respondents said that they mostly play games to pass the time, another 38% of gamers prefer smartphones because they’re already on their mobiles such a lot; indicating that convenience wins out over sonic sound or HD graphics. Unlike a console or a PC, a mobile device can be taken anywhere.

Improving Mobile Technology

Convenience isn’t the only factor when it comes to the growth of mobile gaming. The technology has now reached a point where smartphones of the caliber of the iPhone XS, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, or Google’s Pixel 3 can provide an immersive gaming experience and even easy-to-play AR games.

Nintendo’s Pokémon Go downloaded over 800 million times and Ludia Games’ Jurassic World: Alive (2018) raised the bar for mobile gaming. Unlike PC or console games, they’re easy to pick up and put down yet but still offer a unique experience.

Gamers Prefer Smartphones but They’re Not Perfect

Mobile gaming is convenient and the games are getting better, but it’s not without its flaws. Serious gamers looking to rack up major sums of money a la Fortnite will likely stick to a PC.

Although the game is available to players on iOS and Android, mobile devices still fail to offer the sophisticated controls that serious gamers demand. In fact, some 30% of respondents said that wanted better controls from their mobile devices.

Most mobile games use a simple touchscreen for commands. But as games grow more complex in nature and there’s money on the table, controls naturally become more complicated. A fact that doesn’t lend itself well to mobile devices. At least not for the time being.

At E3 2018 several big game developers announced their plans to tap into the mobile market. And with upcoming releases including EA’s Command & Conquer, and Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls: Blades, mobile gamers may not have to wait too long before they can ditch their PC and console altogether.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

After taking the gaming world by storm, Fortnite’s fortune can only increase with the news that it’s now available on even more Android devices. The game’s rollout to iOS generated $300 million worth of revenue in the first 200 days.

The most recent reports suggest the phenomenal success from Epic Games is now earning $2.5 million per day and has upwards of 80 million monthly players.

Fortnite for Android

Fortnite became available to more Android users on October 11, 2018, with the launch of its full, no invite needed, Android beta version. Up to now only invitees and newer Samsung devices could run the Android version.

Fortnite’s Android version will now work on most Android devices running Android OS version 8.0 or above and with 3GB of RAM or higher available. This is a resource-demanding game, so if your system is old and slow, it might not run.

But NOT on Google Play

Fortnite fans won’t be able to download Fortnite from the Google Play Store since it’s only available on the Fortnite website.

Epic Games’ CEO explains the very savvy move for Fortnite:

“We’re trying to make our software available to users in as economically efficient a way as possible. That means distributing the software directly to them, taking payment through Mastercard, Visa, Paypal, and other options, and not having a store take 30 percent.”

It’s not like Fortnite needs Google Play Store to reach more players, up to June 2018, 125 million people had played they game, with 40 million playing in June alone. By August, with the expansion to new devices, 78.3 million people had played Fortnite. The latest figures are likely to show even higher growth.

Epic games will also not list on Steam for the same reason, and Sweeney says he’d avoid Apple’s App Store too if he could. Sweeney wants a direct relationship with Fortnite customers on all platforms, he says:

“The great thing about the Internet and the digital revolution is that this is possible, now that physical storefronts and middlemen distributors are no longer required.”

Fortnite’s Fortune

Of course, for Sweeney, he has a bit of weight to support his argument. Fortnite is, according to reports, now grossing $2.5 million per day since the release of Season 6.

By the end of September 2018, iOS earnings for the game had hit $1.5 million after releasing for Apple devices in March 2018.

Of the $300 million made on iOS devices in 200 days, 65% is from US-based players and $20 million was spent in the last week of September alone.

Unlike less successful games, Epic just doesn’t need the support of Google or Apple to promote Fortnite. If Android use delivers the same results as iOS, in 200 days, Google could have lost out on around $90 million worth of in-game purchases.

This is based on the assumption that player spending will be through in-game Google Play purchases, after a download from the Google Play Store.

Predictions by the Bloomberg Billionaires index suggest that by the end of 2019, Fortnite’s fortune will be $2 billion in revenue and have catapulted Epic Games’ worth from $5 billion to $8 billion.

The Fortnite Model

Fortnite’s revenue comes from solely from in-game purchases, the game itself is free. But, in a business model that bucks the gaming trend, players can’t buy items that affect their in-game performance.

Players can only purchase cosmetic skins, dances, and game modes for their characters priced at between 200 to 2,000 V-bucks, approximately $2 to $20. Accessories in the Fortnite shop are often time-limited, encouraging players to buy before they miss the opportunity.

A recent study of 1,000 Fortnite players revealed that 69% had made in-game purchases averaging over $80 each. Fortnite has some of the highest rates of revenue-per-user in the gaming industry and operating margins of over 50%.

Fortnite is set to make billions, with no sign of its success abating any time soon. Part of that success is down to the massive prize pool offered to players.

In May, Fortnite set its 2018-2019 prize pool for winning players of tournaments at $100 million, believed to be the biggest total sum of money offered for esports tournaments by a single company.

And it doesn’t stop there: Chinese gaming giant Tencent owns 40% of Epic Games. A Fortnite roll-out for China has been delayed by regulators, but is expected for 2018, which would open up the massive gaming market in China to Fortnite’s raging success.

Featured image from Shutterstock.