Mobile games and social experiences developer GreenPark Sports has raised $14M USD in a Series A financing round and partnered with the NBA. 

The round was led by Galaxy Interactive, and also attracted participation from ADvantage, John Burbank (Passport Capital), Steve Chen (co-founder of YouTube), Courtney Reum (M13), Sinclair Broadcasting, and existing backers Sapphire Sport and SignalFire. 

According to the Los Angeles-based publisher and developer, the new capital is earmarked for development, expansion across leagues, and worldwide publishing. 

Additionally, the company has signed a multi-year agreement with the National Basketball Association (NBA), covering a free-to-play mobile game designed to be played over the top of sporting events. 

GreenPark says the game will allow fans to support their favourite NBA team and compete against their biggest rivals in a virtual NBA Land – a “metaverse for sports fans.” It will feature in-game challenges, and users will be able to kit out their avatar with authentic NBA gear, including jerseys and hats. 

Commenting on the project NBA Associate Vice President, Global Partnerships, Adrienne O’Keeffe, said:

“We are always looking for innovative and engaging social gaming experiences to bring to our fans. We believe GreenPark has created something truly unique for NBA fans around the world and are excited to be a part of the platform at launch.”

While Vice President of Business Operations at GreenPark, Tony Grillo, added:

“It’s a huge honor to have an organization like the NBA ‘buy-in’ to our vision for the Future of Fandom. We’re looking forward to collaborating with them on future initiatives and are excited to see how the GreenPark community responds to basketball fandom.”

A similar agreement was previously signed with the North American League of Legends Championship Series (LCS). The new game is slated to launch for both the NBA and LCS sometime early next year. 

AYO.NEWS says:

These days everything is about fan engagement, and GreenPark’s take on mobile game experiences looks refreshingly new, so it will be interesting to see just how attractive these games are when they are launched early next year. One things for sure, the company isn’t going to be short on cash for a while, and can tap some impressive expertise.

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Red Bull has entered a multi-year partnership with South Korean organisation T1 Entertainment & Sports. 

The agreement, which gives T1 access to Red Bull’s performance training centres, including facilities in Austria and California, covers all of T1’s competitive teams, which include Apex Legends, DOTA 2, Fortnite, PUBG Mobile, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and VALORANT. 

Formed in 2019 through a partnership between SK Telecom and Comcast Spectacor, T1 Entertainment & Sports is best known for its League of Legends team, which won three World Championships for the pre-Comcast Spectacor organisation, SK Telecom T1. 

Red Bull is one of the most heavily invested brands in esports, having a number of major teams in its sponsorship portfolio, including G2 Esports, Cloud9, and Vodafone Giants. It’s also hosted many esports events and competitions over the years, especially League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. 

T1 Entertainment & Sports is also partnered with Nike, BMW, Douyu, Twitch, SKT 5GX, Hana Bank, Samsung Odyssey, One Store, Klevv, Logitech G, Yibo Sports, and Secretlab.

AYO.NEWS says:

Red Bull is no stranger to esports, so this partnership isn’t exactly surprising, but we’re sure the support of the company will be appreciated by T1’s players and teams, especially if they get to take full advantage of Red Bull’s training infrastructure – though that will obviously depend on global travel opening up again soon. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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Swedish esports organisation Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) has teamed up with English Premier League football club Leeds United. 

The partnership will cover FIFA esports and the ePremier League. Leeds was promoted from the EFL Championship to the Premier League last season, so this will be the first time the club is eligible to be represented in the ePremier League.

Discussing the collaboration Ninjas in Pyjamas CEO, Hicham Chahine, said:

“This partnership with Leeds is an exciting milestone for Ninjas in Pyjamas. Our iconic clubs share similar histories of transformation and core values when fighting our way back to the top of our sports.

“We looked for a Premier club with an ownership that was ready to go deep into esports — with the ambition of making an impact, integrating efforts on sports performance, fan activation and commercialisation. We are very thrilled about this FIFA journey together. Keep your eyes open for more exciting announcements in the upcoming weeks.”

While Leeds United Executive Director, Paul Bell, added:

“Promotion to the Premier League has given the club some amazing opportunities so far, with involvement in the ePremier League the latest chance for the club to grow and impress.

“Just as Marcelo [Bielsa] has done with the men’s first team, we intend on making our presence in the league known and being competitive straight away. Creating a partnership with NiP will give us a fantastic foundation to do so. Bring it on.”

AYO.NEWS says:

It seems likely that 2020/21 will be looked back on as a pivotal moment in the relationship between football and esports. With EA Sports FIFA leagues growing all around the world, and more and more football clubs partnering with established esports organisations, efootball is emerging as a serious business in its own right. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

British competitive gaming culture brand EXCEL ESPORTS is the focus of a new BBC Three produced documentary series. 

Narrated by Golden Globe and BAFTA nominee Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders, 28 Days Later, Sunshine), the five-part series follows EXCEL ESPORTS at their Twickenham training facility, and at the League of Legends European Championship (LEC) in Berlin during the 2019 Spring Split. 

Commenting on the series, Cillian Murphy said:

“My sons love gaming. When I showed them the trailer for this, they said I had to do it. Being involved in Fight For First has been a great experience and there is so much more to professional gaming than I ever thought. It has opened up a whole new world to me and this series provides a proper insight into a fascinating, global industry.”

While Co-Founder and Chief Gaming Officer at EXCEL ESPORTS, Kieran Holmes-Darby, explained:

“This five-part series showcases our attempts to reach the League of Legends European Championship play-offs for the first time in our history and is a completely unique insight into EXCEL ESPORTS and what goes on behind the scenes of a major esports organisation. 

“At EXCEL, whilst competing at the elite level, we pride ourselves on always striving to be better, and the series demonstrates how we practise, prepare and play. Not only will it offer our fans a deeper look into what we do, but it will also offer people who are completely new to esports a fascinating perspective of our exciting industry.”

And, Controller at BBC Three, Fiona Campbell, added:

“The BBC Three in-house documentary team have created a fascinating series and true insight into the world’s fastest growing sport – and one that has a huge following and importance to our audience. 

“We’re excited to be the first UK broadcaster to follow an esports team through a global esports competition, taking viewers behind the scenes as the teenage team members juggle competing on a world stage with their lives at home.”

Fight For First: EXCEL ESPORTS is a 5 x 30 production made by the BBC Three in-house team. It was commissioned by Fiona Campbell, Controller BBC Three, produced and directed by Simon Rawles. The Executive Producers are James Corbin and Jo Smith for BBC Three.

AYO.NEWS says:

Produced by the BBC, narrated by Cillian Murphy, and starring the EXCEL crew? This should be a fascinating glimpse into one of the most competitive organisations in esports, and we’re sure it will open a lot of peoples’ eyes to just how big an industry esports, and video gaming in general, now is. 

Last month, EXCEL ESPORTS underwent a major pivot, totally updating its brand and revealing ambitious new plans to take the organisation to an entirely new level. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

PUBG Corporation has officially merged with its parent company, Krafron, Inc., and will now be operating as PUBG Studio. 

According to an official statement, the developer of global hit PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS will continue to support PUBG and PUBG MOBILE in “select countries”, and will be concentrating on expanding the PUBG franchise into esports and other entertainment mediums. 

South Korea-based Krafton has also merged two of its other subsidiaries, PNIX, Inc. (Archery King), and Delusion Studio, Inc., (Castle Burn), into a new company called Rising Wings. 

Krafton’s independent studio system now includes PUBG Studio, Rising Wings, Striking Distance Studios, and Bluehole Studios. 

AYO.NEWS says:

It’s been quite a year for PUBG Corporation, with its battle royale title remaining hugely popular, and its mobile version doing especially well, seeing several new leagues formed. However, the Indian government’s decision to ban PUBG MOBILE in September, as part of its escalating dispute with China, hit the company hard. 

We doubt very much that the restructuring and renaming of PUBG Corporation to PUBG Studio will have any noticeable effect for players in the short term, as it’s probably mainly related to Krafton’s upcoming listing on the Korea Exchange (KRX) – which could value the company at a record $26B USD. However, it will be interesting to see how the franchise expands regarding esports, and which other entertainment mediums it enters, in the longer term.

As previously reported, in November Krafton announced a partnership with Microsoft, which will see it deploy its products, including PUBG and PUBG Mobile, using the Azure cloud computing service. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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Kuwaiti telecommunications provider Zain Group has launched a new esports brand, Zain Esports. 

Zain Esports kicked things off yesterday with the Middle Eastern Challenge, a FIFA tournament run in partnership with Electronic Arts. With the help of Australian esports agency eGen, the company has enlisted 2018 FIFA eWorld champions and Saudi national Mossad “Msdossary” Aldossary to help promote the tournament. 

Qualifying rounds started yesterday, 1 December, and will run through to 5 December, with playoffs and finals taking place from 8 – 9 December, and 15 – 16 December respectively. 

Following the inaugural Middle Eastern Challenge, Zain Esports plans to host “multiple flagship and community events” over the coming year, offering both cash and merchandise prizes. 

Discussing the launch of Zain Esports, Group Chief Investment and Digital Officer, Malek Hammoud, said:

“We are extremely excited with the launch of Zain esports, which marks a significant achievement in Zain’s diversification strategy and investment outside of areas related strictly to telco. This initiative meets a number of different goals for Zain, including youth development, enriching the brand, fostering innovation and digital opportunities on our 4G, 5G and Fiber networks, and creating shareholder value.

“We have every expectation that Zain esports is going to develop into a regional and international gaming powerhouse, and we are highly pleased and motivated to be working with recognized gaming partners and developers.”

The initiative is designed to help Zain Group tap younger audiences, with the company saying it has seen a 300% increase in gaming-related data usage since February 2020, across its 4G, 5G, and Fiber to the Home (FTTH) services. 

Zain Group serves 48.9M active telecoms customers across the Middle East and Africa, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and South Sudan. It also has a 15.5% stake in INWI in Morocco. 

AYO.NEWS says:

While there’s no denying the Middle East and North Africa are underserved when it comes to esports, the region has a lot of promise, with a rapidly growing gaming community, especially in mobile titles. 

Just last month, we reported that Jordanian organisation FATE Esports was set to be the first in the region to launch a fan engagement app via Blocksport. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.