The Esports Advocate
Esports business news: deals, legal, and governance.
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TEKKEN 8 Joins the Esports World Cup
The Esports World Cup Foundation has officially confirmed that Namco Bandai’s fighting game, Tekken 8, will be featured as a key title at the 2024 Esports World Cup.
- Bandai Namco’s TEKKEN 8 has been confirmed as an official title for the 2024 Esports World Cup, which will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this July.
- The Esports World Cup is a multi-week, multi-title festival funded by the Saudi Arabian government’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
- Tournament operations for the event are being managed by the ESL FACEIT Group, a subsidiary of the Saudi-owned Savvy Games Group.
GRID Hires Two Seasoned Veterans From Esports and Gaming
GRID, a prominent gaming and esports data platform, has strengthened its leadership and consulting teams through the strategic hiring of two industry veterans.
- GRID has hired Tim 'Magic' Sevenhuysen as senior business data consultant and Julian Schwartz as vice president of business development.
- Tim Sevenhuysen, founder of OraclesElixir.com and former 100 Thieves Director of Esports Analytics, will focus on supporting professional esports teams' use of GRID Data Portals.
- Julian Schwartz, who previously served as a YouTube Gaming Strategic Partnership Manager for four years and as head of global esports business development at PUBG Corporation, will lead efforts to unlock opportunities with game developers.
PlayVS Expands into U.S. Middle Schools
PlayVS is expanding its scholastic esports platform to include middle schools across the United States, beginning in the Fall 2024 season.
- PlayVS is expanding its competitive esports platform into U.S. middle schools starting in the Fall 2024 season.
- The expansion adds over 36,000 middle schools to the company's network, more than doubling its total potential reach to over 68,000 schools.
- Middle school leagues will operate under a free-to-play, cooperative model designed to be casual rather than intensely competitive.
Women in Games International Members Concerned by Savvy Games Group Sponsorship
Women in Games International (WiGI), a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to fostering an inclusive and diverse workforce in the gaming and esports sectors, has faced internal criticism regarding its recent partnership with Savvy Games Group.
- Members of the nonprofit organization Women in Games International (WiGI) have expressed concern over the group's decision to accept sponsorship from Savvy Games Group during the March 2024 Game Developers Conference.
- Critics argue that accepting funding from Savvy Games Group—which is wholly owned by the Saudi Arabian government and its Public Investment Fund—creates a fundamental misalignment with WiGI’s mission to champion inclusivity and women’s rights.
- Savvy Games Group is a major player in the industry, acting as the parent company of ESL FACEIT Group and holding significant investments in SNK Corporation and the tournament operator VSPO.
PGL Renews Partnership With Shikenso Analytics
International esports tournament organizer PGL has renewed its exclusive partnership with Shikenso Analytics, a firm specializing in marketing and sponsorship data.
- Esports tournament organizer PGL has renewed its exclusive partnership with Shikenso Analytics to utilize the firm's AI-driven sponsorship and marketing data tools.
- The renewed partnership will specifically support the evaluation of the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, a Counter-Strike 2 competition held at the Royal Arena in Denmark.
- PGL will use Shikenso’s platform to monitor and optimize sponsorship performance across social and streaming channels to improve value for brand partners.
Street Fighter 6 Joins the Esports World Cup
The Esports World Cup Foundation has officially announced that Street Fighter 6 will be featured as a key title in the upcoming Esports World Cup, scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in July 2024.
- Capcom’s Street Fighter 6 has been confirmed as a featured title at the 2024 Esports World Cup, which will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this July.
- The Esports World Cup is a multi-week gaming festival funded by the Saudi Arabian government’s Public Investment Fund and facilitated by the ESL FACEIT Group.
- While financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, Street Fighter 6 previously featured at the 2023 Gamers8 event with a $1 million USD total prize pool.
Rocket League Esports Returns to Copper Box Arena in London
The tournament organizer BLAST has announced that the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) will return to the Copper Box Arena in London for the second Major of 2024.
- Tournament organizer BLAST will host the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) Major 2 at the Copper Box Arena in London from June 20–23, 2024.
- The event features a total prize pool of $255,000 USD.
- Participating teams will compete for prize money and RLCS points required to qualify for the Rocket League World Championship in September.
Talon Esports, United Esports to Host Apeiron Tournament
Foonie Magus, a Singapore-based game developer, has partnered with Hong Kong-based Talon Esports and Los Angeles-based United Esports to promote the web3-based multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game, Apeiron.
- Singapore-based developer Foonie Magus has partnered with Talon Esports and United Esports to host an invite-only tournament for its web3-based MOBA, Apeiron.
- The tournament features a total prize pool of $30,000 USD, with individual rewards for top players ranging from $750 to $5,000.
- The event is split into two regional conferences: the Western Conference (Americas) scheduled for April 4-6, and the Eastern Conference (Asia) scheduled for April 11-13.
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.
Portal Dota 2 World Invitationals Announced
The London-based web3 gaming platform Portal has announced the launch of the Portal Dota 2 World Invitationals, a global esports tournament scheduled to take place online from March 28 to March 31, 2024.
- Web3 gaming platform Portal has announced the 'Portal DOTA2 World Invitationals,' an online tournament featuring eight top-tier esports teams competing for a $100,000 USD prize pool.
- The tournament is scheduled to take place from March 28–31, 2024, and appears to have recognition from Dota 2 developer Valve.
- The prize pool distribution includes $50,000 for first place, $25,000 for second, $10,000 for third, $7,000 for fourth, $4,000 each for fifth and sixth, and $2,500 each for seventh and eighth place.
EA Sports FC 24 Joins the Esports World Cup
The Esports World Cup Foundation has officially confirmed that EA Sports FC 24 will be a featured title at the upcoming Esports World Cup, scheduled for July in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- EA Sports FC 24 has been confirmed as a featured title for the 2024 Esports World Cup, which will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this July.
- The Esports World Cup is a multi-title competition funded by the Saudi Arabian government’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and facilitated by the ESL FACEIT Group.
- While financial terms for the inclusion of EA Sports FC 24 were not disclosed, the title follows the precedent set by the 2023 Gamers8 event, which featured the FIFAe Nations Cup with a $1 million USD prize pool.
HRH Prince Faisal Privately Assures IESF Members That the Kingdom is Safe for Visitors
HRH Prince Faisal Bin Bandar Bin Sultan Al Saud, in his capacity as president of both the Saudi Esports Federation and the International Esports Federation (IESF), has issued private assurances to IESF members regarding the safety of visitors to Saudi Arabia.
- HRH Prince Faisal, president of both the Saudi Esports Federation and the International Esports Federation (IESF), has issued private assurances regarding the safety of all visitors, including LGBTQ+ individuals, for the upcoming World Esports Championship in Riyadh.
- The World Esports Championship is scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in November.
- Prince Faisal cited Saudi Arabia's low violent crime rates and the successful, incident-free execution of previous international events—such as Formula 1, Formula E, the Dakar Rally, and the Gamers8 esports festival—as evidence of the Kingdom's safety.