MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Valve has revealed the ten teams to receive direct invites to the prestigious annual Dota 2 tournament, The International, with a current prize pool of $6.3m. Alongside the ten professional teams heading straight to KeyArena in Seattle, WA, this August 3-8, Valve has opened the doors for any team to …
Read More »Global eSports market worth $612m
Competitive gaming in Asia worth more than the rest of the world combined
Read More »eSports now a $612m business thanks to emerging western markets – Superdata
New data from Superdata shows that the eSports market currently boasts an audience of 134m, with the business generating $612m. Games Industry points to a new report from the research firm, which points to the accelerated growth of Western markets as a major factor for the market’s continued emergence. North …
Read More »ESL’s Mortal Kombat X Fatal 8 event attracts big viewer numbers
Mortal Kombat has made its mark in the competitive eSports scene following the success of the ESL’s Fatal 8 tournament. The four-hour tournament totalled over 200k hours watched with peak concurrent viewers of 85,449. There were also official viewing parties in both London and Paris, while #Fatal8 trended on Twitter …
Read More »Legal ruling could boost eSports validity, but that might not help ESPN ratings
The brain is a muscle, right? Whether or not a court agrees with this could decide whether eSports takes another big step towards a perceived legitimacy as a sport. The Daily Dot reports that the English Bridge Union is currently contesting a Sport England’s decision to exclude bridge as a …
Read More »Athletics and eSports governing bodies unite in effort to combat ‘lazy stereotypes’
Pro-gaming’s desire to be classified as a ‘real’ sport may be one step closer to fruition, following a deal struck between an eSports body and a global athletics organisation. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has joined forces with its competitive gaming counterpart, the International eSports Federation (IeSF). Specifically, …
Read More »eSports betting agency Unikrn launches
Former Microsoft exec Rahul Sood’s new company Unikrn is an eSports betting platform. Unikrn has partnered up with Australian wagering firm Tabcorp – specifically its Luxbet platform – to allow gamers to place bets on eSports games. The company says that fans will only be able to place bets in …
Read More »Green Man Gaming to serve as official Gfinity Championship supplier
UK eSports firm Gfinity and digital games retailer Green Man Gaming have penned a deal surrounding the former’s upcoming pro-gaming tournament. Under the new partnership – the second-such collaboration in as many weeks for Gfinity, following its two-year hookup with The Sun owner News UK – Green Man Gaming will …
Read More »ESL and ESEA join forces for $1m CS:GO league
ESL and ESEA, the largest North American Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league provider, are working together on a league with a prize pool of $1million. The ESL ESEA Pro League, set to begin on May 4, will consist of multi-month seasons punctuated by a Valve-sponsored Major title. This year there will …
Read More »Wrist injury forces Hai Lam to retire from Cloud9
League of Legends and eSports star Hai Lam has been forced to retire after failing to recover from a wrist injury. He’ll be hanging around at Cloud9, however, where he will serve as chief gaming officer. I’m very thankful to have had this opportunity to pursue my dreams and become …
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