News Digest 38: Top Gaming News This Week
14 May, 2020 | By Anzu
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The esports and video game industries are returning to “business as usual” mode, except that they are now stronger than ever before! This week is filled with exciting news of new online tournaments and significant funding. Read on for more of this week’s hottest news.
South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism confirmed that the first esports national tournament between China, Japan, and South Korea will be hosted in Seoul in November of this year. However, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament may also be played online without live audiences. According to the announcement, the tournament will feature four esports titles covering PC, mobile esports, and other esports categories. The official game titles have not been confirmed yet, reports the Esports Observer
British series fans alert! UK virtual reality developer Maze Theory has secured additional funding for its projects amounting to £1.4 million which, in combination with a second grant from a government program, will be used to bring the company’s VR game based on the popular TV series Peaky Blinders to other platforms, as well to expand their plans for Doctor Who video games across PC, console, and mobile. Find more details on Gamesindustry.biz.
Chinese developer Sleeper has raised $20 million from Andreessen Horowitz and a bunch of other famous investors to expand from its base in fantasy sports to the adjacent market of fantasy esports and video game chat. According to Sleeper CEO Nan Wang, the chat service in question will center around the League of Legends Championship Series, the annual esports tournament for Riot Games’ popular title. Basically, Sleeper integrates chat functions and an animated interface, allowing you to watch a game and chat at the same time without bouncing between different apps — which is completely different from just watching numbers change on a screen. Furthermore, it facilitates a smoother player experience. Find out more details on VentureBeat.
Nearly every significant sports league is looking at esports to fill the programming void right now due to the pandemic, and the American Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is no different. The LPGA has announced the LPGA eTour Live, a four-week tournament with professional golfers competing in the online golf game World Golf Tour (WGT) by Topgolf. The first match is to commence today! All matches will stream live via numerous accounts, reports Esports Insider.
And last but not least: AdExchanger had an interesting talk with Brian Ames, president of Activision Blizzard Media, the advertising and marketing division within gaming giant Activision Blizzard that owns Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush maker King. Follow the link to learn how even AAA game developers want to use ads as a vehicle to support quality in the game, and just how all-encompassing the world of gaming is.
Anzu.io is an in-game advertising platform that brings real-world brand ads to video gaming and esports. Backed by BITKRAFT Esports Ventures, WPP, and Axel Springer Digital Ventures, Anzu redefines digital advertising through seamless integration of non-intrusive ads into the gameplay. Bringing real-time data and programmatic to the video gaming world, the platform promises native advertising, brand safety and ad viewability. Follow Anzu on
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