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Edward Gaming Generates $690K in Revenue From Valorant Weapon Skins
A recent four-hour live commerce event on the Chinese platform Douyin demonstrated the significant monetization potential of digital goods within the esports sector.
- A four-hour Valorant live commerce event on Douyin generated approximately $1.98 million in total revenue from the sale of over 100,000 team-branded weapon skins.
- Edward Gaming (EDG) led all participating teams with 78,000 units sold, resulting in approximately $690,000 in revenue.
- Bilibili Gaming (BLG) secured the second-highest sales volume with 12,000 units, generating approximately $107,000.
Carry1st Africa Cup Announced: Call of Duty: Mobile Tournament
Carry1st, an Africa-based mobile games publisher, has announced the launch of the Carry1st Africa Cup, a regional esports tournament featuring Call of Duty: Mobile.
- Carry1st has announced the 'Carry1st Africa Cup,' a Call of Duty: Mobile tournament featuring a total prize pool of $15,000 USD.
- The competition is open to players and teams from six African nations: Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa.
- Registration for the tournament opens on May 27, 2024, via the official Carry1st website, with teams consisting of five players each.
Riot Announces Liga Republika 2024 for the Philippines
Riot Games has announced the launch of Liga Republika 2024, an expanded competitive League of Legends circuit for the Philippines.
- Riot Games has launched Liga Republika 2024, an expanded competitive League of Legends circuit for the Philippines that succeeds the 2023 Empyrean Cup.
- The tournament will feature 384 participating regional teams from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, representing a significant increase from the 256 teams that competed in 2023.
- The competition structure includes a May Kickoff Invitational, public open qualifiers from June to August, and a group stage in August for the top 16 teams.
Disguised Valorant Player JAYH Suspended for Suspicion of Match-Fixing
Valorant Challengers Malaysia & Singapore has issued a provisional suspension to professional player Wong "JAYH" Jia Heng, a member of the Disguised team, due to allegations of match-fixing.
- Valorant Challengers Malaysia & Singapore has issued a provisional suspension to professional player Wong 'JAYH' Jia Heng due to an investigation into alleged match-fixing.
- While the official charge is match-fixing, reports indicate the investigation centers on allegations that JAYH bet on a match involving his former team, NIP Group, in 2023.
- JAYH has publicly denied the match-fixing allegations, asserting that he has never engaged in such activities and was not contacted by tournament officials prior to the public announcement of his suspension.
I Am Sorry, but Supercell Is Superdead: UA Lessons We Can Learn From
Supercell has successfully reversed a period of stagnation, demonstrating that the company is far from obsolete.
- Supercell achieved a major turnaround in 2024 following 2022–2023 declines, driven primarily by Brawl Stars, which saw monthly active users grow 2.4x and daily active users increase 3.9x between June 2023 and February 2024.
- The company’s revenue surged 8.8-fold during the June 2023 to February 2024 period by reintroducing balanced gacha mechanics via 'Starr Drops' after the initial removal of loot boxes failed.
- Supercell successfully broke internal echo chambers by recruiting high-profile talent from major industry competitors like Riot Games and Blizzard.
Riot Promotes David Mulhall Global Head of Esports Partnerships and Business Development
Riot Games has promoted David Mulhall to the position of Global Head of Esports Partnerships and Business Development.
- Riot Games has promoted David Mulhall to Global Head of Esports Partnerships and Business Development to oversee sponsorship strategy across its global and regional esports ecosystems.
- Mulhall will lead partnership efforts for Riot's primary titles, including League of Legends Esports, Valorant Champions Tour, and Teamfight Tactics Esports.
- Since joining Riot in 2020, Mulhall has been instrumental in securing and expanding partnerships with major brands including Mastercard, Red Bull, AWS, HP, OMEN, and HyperX, which have collectively generated hundreds of millions in revenue.
League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics Join the Esports World Cup
Riot Games has officially confirmed that its titles, League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics, will participate in the Esports World Cup held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- Riot Games has authorized the inclusion of League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics in the Saudi Arabian government-backed Esports World Cup held in Riyadh this summer.
- Riot Games will not produce these events, leaving the format, team selection, and prize pool structure to the Esports World Cup Foundation and the ESL FACEIT Group.
- The decision aims to support the MENA region's esports growth and provide financial stability to professional teams and players facing current economic challenges.
The Path: Parth Naidu and the Birth of SIDO
Parth Naidu, formerly the head coach of TSM, transitioned from professional team management in 2021 to establish SIDO, a research-oriented firm focused on the scientific study of competitive gaming performance.
- Former TSM Head Coach Parth Naidu founded SIDO, a research-driven organization focused on applying gaming analytics to improve player performance, team dynamics, and health metrics.
- SIDO operates on a sustainable model where profits from consulting projects with investors, game developers, and universities are reinvested into open-source research.
- The company has developed a proprietary performance metric for League of Legends that moves beyond traditional win/loss data to quantify how players enable teammates and inhibit opponents.
New Sponsorship Categories Being Considered for LoL Esports Teams
Riot Games is expanding sponsorship opportunities for tier-1 League of Legends esports organizations to improve the financial sustainability of teams within its global ecosystem.
- Riot Games is expanding sponsorship categories for League of Legends esports teams to improve long-term financial sustainability and address requests from team owners.
- New sponsorship categories under consideration include beer and wine products, CBD, and government-related entities, such as armed forces or national sporting authorities.
- The implementation of these new categories is subject to regional legal restrictions and local market acceptance, with some categories already permitted in specific regions.
Riot Expands League of Legends Esports Revenue Sharing
Riot Games has announced a significant restructuring of its business model for professional League of Legends esports, aimed at enhancing long-term financial sustainability for teams.
- Riot Games is transitioning to a new revenue-sharing model for Tier 1 League of Legends teams in the LCS, LEC, and LCK, with ongoing discussions to evolve the model for the LPL.
- The new model introduces a Global Revenue Pool (GRP) funded by digital in-game content, which replaces the previous system that limited revenue participation to only the 30 teams competing in international events.
- The GRP is distributed across three buckets: 50% for General Shares (allocated to all Tier 1 teams), 35% for Competitive Shares (based on regional and international performance), and 15% for Fandom Shares (rewarding brand and player engagement).
Riot Games Sued Over FTX Partnership With LCS
A class-action lawsuit filed in a California federal court alleges that Riot Games and its League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) are complicit in promoting fraud through a former partnership with the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
- Riot Games and the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) are facing a class-action lawsuit filed on March 7, 2024, alleging they aided and abetted fraud through their partnership with the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
- The lawsuit claims Riot Games and the LCS violated securities fraud laws, engaged in civil conspiracy, and violated unfair competition statutes by promoting FTX’s unregistered securities and yield-bearing accounts.
- Plaintiffs argue that Riot Games is liable for damages because their mass promotion of FTX via internet and social media platforms facilitated the sale of fraudulent investments to a global audience.
Over 2,000 Games Industry Professionals Lost Their Jobs in February, 5x Year-Over-Year
The global video game industry experienced a significant surge in workforce reductions during February 2024, with at least 2,027 professionals losing their jobs.
- The video game industry recorded at least 2,027 layoffs in February 2024, a fivefold increase compared to the 386 jobs lost in February 2023.
- Total industry layoffs for the first two months of 2024 have already exceeded 8,000, putting the sector on track to surpass the 10,500 total layoffs documented in all of 2023.
- Sony Interactive Entertainment accounted for the largest share of February's reductions with 900 job cuts, including the closure of London Studio and staff reductions at Naughty Dog, Insomniac Games, and Guerrilla Games.
