ESL and Acer have revealed the CS:GO Predator League is set to expand into the EMEA region later in 2020. 

Named after Acer’s range of gaming peripherals, the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Predator League was initially launched in the Asia Pacific region, and is aimed at grassroots players.

The expansion will cover Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, and the Middle East,  with countries getting their own online tournaments, and semifinals and Grand Final rounds broadcast by popular local influencers. Prizes will include the latest cutting-edge Predator gaming hardware. 

Competitions will be operated by ESL through its ESL Play platform, in collaboration with Acer’s Planet9 social gaming platform – which will be providing young talent with pro-coaching session from world-class coaches, including Nooky (Germany), Pita (Sweden), Pimp (Denmark), ChrisJ (Netherlands) and hoveRR (Middle East).

The Predator League will also be serving as a promotional vehicle for local retail partners to offer promotions to the gaming community. 

Commenting on the news CEO of ESL, Ralf Reichert, said:

“The grassroots community is core to the growth of esports and providing young talent the platform to maximise their potential has never been more important. The Predator League will act as a gateway for anybody to climb the esports success ladder. 

“Acer continues to invest in the long-term growth of esports and we are delighted to help and expand our existing partnership with Acer and the launch of their first EMEA online league.”

While Vice President of Acer Europe, Middle East and Africa, Hajo Blingen, added:

“We are excited to launch the Predator League, as a natural evolution from our long-term partnership with the Intel Extreme Masters and ESL to attract young esports talent by creating new online formats. 

“As the world’s leading gaming brand, Predator has already a strong commitment to the CS:GO community and gaming fan base. Driving continuous innovations, such as our nextgen esports platform, Planet9, the Predator League will also provide retail partners a platform to promote Predator products to the community through exclusive promotions.”

AYO.NEWS says:

It’s great to see ESL and Acer enhancing opportunities for young talent to develop like this, and it’s also going to be a great platform for smaller local retailers and brands to enter the esports scene. 

Staying with ESL and Europe, last week the company announced it had extended its partnership with GamingMalta – with the Mediterranean country now set to host the entire ESL Pro League in 2021. 

‘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

Las Vegas-based gambling company GameCo has unveiled its full-service esports betting solution. 

GameCo’s offering is specifically designed for casinos and sportsbooks operating in regulated US markets, and was created in partnership with data platform GRID, oddsmaker 10Star, and iGaming software developer Askott Entertainment (recently acquired by FansUnite). 

A ‘plug-and-play’ solution, GameCo’s offering includes betting, data, video streaming services, and odds risk management, and will be operated under GameCo’s recently launched esports betting brand, iGameCo. 

Discussing the new offering CEO and Co-founder of GameCo, Blaine Graboyes, said:

“We’re proud to lead the industry forward by providing a truly end-to-end, fully managed solution for casinos and sportsbooks in the US looking to capture a piece of the exploding esports betting opportunity. 

“We‘ve recently seen the gaming and esports categories skyrocket in popularity particularly among younger, untapped audiences, and now is the time for casino operators to act and set the stage for the future of sports gambling.”

GameCo currently holds licenses in more than 25 jurisdictions across North America and Europe. 

AYO.NEWS says:

As a company, GameCo perfectly reflects how the worlds of traditional iGaming and sports betting are merging with video gaming and esports. GameCo itself is a trailblazer in terms of introducing skill-based gaming elements to the casino setting, and its new brand and partnerships with leading esports betting suppliers, is helping it position perfectly to capitalise on the rapidly changing tastes and expectations of gamblers.

‘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

BITKRAFT Ventures has raised $165M to invest in gaming, esports, and interactive media. 

The venture capital fund has confirmed the close of BITKRAFT Venture Fund I at $165m – beating the initial $125m target by some $40m. 

The BITKRAFT Ventures Platform has received backing from an impressive global investor base, including Carolwood, the family office of Bruce Karsh; Declaration Partners, the investment firm backed by the family office of David M. Rubenstein; JS Capital, the investment firm of Jonathan Soros; alongside corporate investors including adidas, WPP, Advance, and Logitech. 

Reflecting on the success of the fund, BITKRAFT Ventures founding general partner, Jens Hilgers, said:

“We are grateful to our investors for their confidence in our team’s ability to identify talent, trends, and opportunities in the gaming and esports space. At BITKRAFT, we don’t just support forward-thinking entrepreneurs with capital, but also provide experience, resources, and our global network. While we are living in challenging times, our industry is experiencing strong tailwinds and unprecedented opportunity. There is no better time for BITKRAFT to invest.”

A growth megatrend still in its early innings, video games continue to gain share of consumer entertainment time and discretionary spending. Titles like Fortnite and Minecraft define modern pop culture and have become social networks and economies of their own.

Gaming, a $160B industry with a global audience of 2.7B gamers, already stands larger than music and film combined and is on track to surpass TV as the largest media category. In addition, COVID-19 has brought significant additional growth, as well as a newfound societal appreciation for video games as a form of social connectivity beyond physical barriers. 

BITKRAFT launched its inaugural Pre-Seed Fund in 2017, and including this newly closed Venture Fund, has built a portfolio spanning more than 50 companies across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Led by industry veteran Jens Hilgers, founder and former CEO of ESL and co-founder of esports team G2 Esports, BITKRAFT has its roots in esports, but gradually expanded its investment scope to now fully cover gaming and interactive media. 

Co-founding general partners Malte Barth and Scott Rupp, as well as recently hired partner Moritz Baier-Lentz, round out the team in Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, and Berlin and collectively have more than 70 years of gaming entrepreneurship and investment experience.

The team’s early-stage investment focus in game studios, interactive platforms and horizontal technology is informed by the idea of Synthetic Realities®—BITKRAFT’s vision of a future that embraces the increasing convergence of the physical and digital worlds.

AYO.NEWS says:

With the world’s traditional industries reeling from the COVID-19 lockdown induced economic crisis, BITKRAFT Ventures is proving there’s still plenty of investment opportunities in the gaming, esports, and interactive media sectors. 

Earlier today we reported BITKRAFT Ventures led a $4.3M Series A funding round for Indian multi-game platform Gamezop. 

‘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

North American esports organisation Dignitas has created a new platform ‘_FE’ to promote opportunities and education for women in gaming. 

The announcement was made today to coincide with Women’s Equality Day. Led by Dignitas’ Vice President of Talent, Heather “sapphiRe” Garozzo, the new platform is called ‘_FE’, and will be launching several initiatives over the next three months. 

These will include:

• Industry town halls addressing significant matters affecting females in gaming
• A community website devoted to housing relevant female gaming content, including calendars of female gaming competitions, resources, announcements and media coverage
• Complimentary, virtual educational seminars for aspiring professional female gamers and streamers in content creation, social media and media training, brand analysis and more
• Female and co-ed competitions
• Online social community via discord
• Creation of a female-focused gaming-centric clothing line
• Live events at dignitas’ headquarters in los angeles and greater new york city
• The signing of new female competitors and creators

Discussing the initiative Garozzo said:

“Despite a significant increase in female gamers, streamers and fans, there is still a lack of representation in media, on live streams and in competition. Through _FE we aim to ensure female gamers have the resources, role models and healthy community to empower themselves and cultivate their passion as competitors and content creators.”

While Founder and leader of Dignitas Fe, Emmalee “EMUHLEET” Garrido, added:

“As a young female gamer trying to find my place in the esports community, I didn’t have any females gaming role models to admire. 

“Gaming has made a significant impact on my life and truly opened the world for me – from the more than 10 countries in which I’ve competed to the teammates from 4 countries and followers from over thirty countries throughout the globe as some of the most important relationships in my life. I’m proud that _FE will provide a platform for my team and I to share what I’ve learned over the years as top female competitors and inspire the next generation of female gamers.”

AYO.NEWS says:

The motivation behind this project is clearly admirable, but as I’ve said before, this approach is risky because it can actually entrench division. Of course, its supporters will argue this isn’t the case, and initiatives like this are harmless efforts to “encourage more female gamers” etc, but they are questionable arguments. 

At this point, I was going to embark on an extensive argument about exactly why they are questionable arguments, but then I realised I’d made similar cases many times before, regarding all kinds of equality and diversity issues, and come to a frustrating conclusion; the kind of mindset that leads people to think these kinds of initiatives are a good idea in the first place is so fundamentally different from the mindsets of those, like myself, who think they aren’t, that any attempt to argue inevitably leads to further polarisation – which is exactly what I’m against in the first place.

Personally, I hope we are soon at a point where no one will feel initiatives like this are even necessary, and everyone is able to feel welcome in the gaming world and industry.

Staying with Dignitas, last week the organisation enhanced its partnership with EEG-owned esports betting platform VIE.gg. 

‘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

Czech esports organisation Entropiq has partnered with fast food giant McDonald’s.

Entropiq, which was founded in 2019, and aims to be the premier esports organisation in Czechia and Slovakia, recently acquired rosters in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and VALORANT.

The organisation also competes in FIFA, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and Hearthstone, and has said it intends to enter Dota 2. 

Commenting on the deal Managing Director of Entropiq, Ondřej Drebota, said:

“I am pleased to see us make giant leaps forward, meeting our vision of becoming an international esports organization. In McDonald’s, we are welcoming an illustrious partner. I am looking forward to pushing Czech gaming together.”

While Chief Marketing Officer and McDonald’s Czech Republic and Slovakia, Martin Troup, added:

“We enter the world of esports with the hopes of raising brand awareness among the important group of our customers and shifting McDonald’s image towards becoming an integral part of the entertainment instilled in this rapidly-expanding cultural phenomenon.”

Entropiq also has commercial partnerships with Fine Gusto, Ematiq, and Pure Coco, while McDonald’s has previously partnered with Overwatch League franchise Atlanta Reign, La Liga Esports, and ESL Meisterschaft. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Landing a partnership with a global brand like McDonald’s is a big deal for any esports organisation, but especially for such a new one, so this is sure to give Entropiq a big confidence boost. 

‘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

Indian multi-game platform Gamezop has raised $4.3 million in a Series A funding round led by BITKRAFT Ventures. 

Gamezop licenses HTML5 games from top developers and seamlessly embeds them inside some of the world’s most popular apps, and has established itself in India with 34 million active monthly users. 

The funding round also attracted participation from Velo Partners, and Survam Partners. Gamezop says it plans to use the new capital to expand into Southeast Asia and Latin America, introduce more skill-based, real money (as opposed to virtual currency) gaming formats.

Founded in 2016 by siblings Yashash and Gaurav Agarwal, Gamezop achieved profitability in 2017, and now embeds games inside 1,600 popular apps including Samsung My Galaxy, India Today, Firefox, Xiaomi Play, and MX Player. 

Discussing the funding round, Gamezop CEO and Co-Founder, Yashash Agarwal, said:

“Hyper-casual games are quickly becoming mobile gaming’s most popular genre and with Gamezop, non-gaming apps and websites can seamlessly integrate games within 30 minutes, resulting in increased engagement and revenue almost instantly.

“BITKRAFT Ventures is the clear thought leader when it comes to esports, gaming, and immersive entertainment. They were at the top of our list when we began to look for investment partners to help us grow the business.”

While BITKRAFT Founding General Partner, Malta Barth, added:

“We are excited to partner with a team that has successfully solved the distribution problem when it comes to HTML5-based gaming. The fact that an astounding 97% of smartphone users in India have at least two Gamezop integrated apps on their phone is a testament to this.

“With Gamezop, you can play hundreds of games, competitively or casually, without installing a single app, creating a seamless gaming experience. Real-money gaming in India is expected to reach a valuation of $1.7 billion by 2022 and Gamezop is poised to become a major player in the space.”

Apps that partner with Gamezop have reported time spent by users increases an average of 40%, and they also benefit from a 50% revenue split with the company. 

In addition to the free-to-play casual gaming format, the platform has also introduced a popular esports format, allowing users to compete on skill-based games to win cash prizes directly from their mobile devices, without the need to install individual games.

AYO.NEWS says:

The Indian gaming market is one of the most exciting spaces in the world right now, with huge potential for rapid growth – something BITKRAFT Ventures clearly recognises. 

Also interesting is the way hyper casual games, like those offered by Gamezop, are now blurring the lines with traditional iGaming, as hyper-casual games move into the real-money vertical, and online casino game developers start to integrate social and skill-based aspects into their offerings. 

Staying with India, just last week Gaming Innovation Group’s (GiG) online gambling guide Super Lenny launched a localised version in the country. 

‘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