Fast sports and esports content, live streaming, live data, and odds supplier, BETER, has entered a strategic partnership with Bayes Esports. 

As a part of the agreement, Bayes Esports will supply real-time data for popular esports tournaments to BETER, whereas BETER’s esports trading department will offer odds with even better accuracy and increase open odds uptime to 95%.

Alex Barkar, CEO at BETER, commented: “We’re proud that we signed a partnership agreement with Bayes Esports. It will definitely help us achieve the goals set for 2021: to maximise the distribution of our content to new clients and markets, including in Asia, where betting also plays a big role. For more than three years, we at BETER continue to make BETERable content, as well as help our clients to harness new market opportunities and provide thrilling content for bettors.”

Mark Balch, VP Esports Betting Services at Bayes, added: “We see this partnership as a great synergy of client-focused services and robust solutions. By combining our technology-driven products and machine learning algorithms with BETER’s trading team’s experience, we will make a real impact in the betting industry.”

Staying with BETER, earlier this month the company inked a trading and content deal with Asia Pro League, the new Central Asian sports league. 

Real Luck Group, operator of esports-first betting site Luckbox, has partnered with Publishme to build its in-house content studio and deliver Luckbox’s content marketing strategy. 

Publishme is a full-service marketing agency focused on gaming companies and brands, and has worked with major clients including Activision, Epic Games, Red Bull, Mastercard, and Unilever. 

Luckbox CEO Thomas Rosander said: “Content is a key part of our marketing mix, since esports fans and gamers consume content like no other generation before them. Until now, Luckbox’s growth has been primarily organic, and this partnership represents the beginning of our drive to scale our customer acquisition efforts. Our Head of Content, Nevzat Uçar, is highly experienced delivering content that resonates with targeted audiences, especially at his prior roles at Red Bull and Riot Games. We are confident that Publishme will complement his skills to drive content that will bring esports and gaming audiences on to our platform.”

Luckbox Head of Content Nevzat Uçar added: “I’ll be leading our Publishme relationship to build our exclusive, in-house content studio to convert our ideas and content strategy into action and realization. The Publishme team will support Luckbox in creating written, visual and video content as well as graphic design, creating esports tournaments, helping on influencer management and production. They’ll work with us to convey our message to the esports and gaming audience through our owned and managed channels.”

Publishme CEO Özgür Özalp commented: “As a marketing agency in the rapidly growing gaming and esports industry, we’re always looking for new partnerships to add value to our business and deliver the best content to the gaming community on a global scale. I believe that the Luckbox’ s  global vision and our upcoming projects that we will develop and execute together will create a huge differentiator in terms of attracting customers. We’re excited that we’ll be able to share our projects and contents with the global gaming community.”

The Isle of Man Government has announced its sponsorship of X7, the island’s first professional esports organisation, underlining its long-term commitment to the emerging industry. 

X7, which was founded in December 2020 and currently fields a roster in League of Legends, is now being supported by Digital Isle of Man, part of the IoM Government’s Department for Enterprise. 

X7 made its debut during the League of Legends United Kingdom Esports League (UKEL) Summer Open Qualifiers, where they produced a flawless set of results with 10 wins and 0 losses. The organisation says it is now focused on attracting and supporting exceptional talent from across the world, and has plans to expand into more titles and make an impact in both the UK and further afield. 

Commenting on the sponsorship and sector more broadly, Chris Kissack, Digital Isle of Man’s Head of esports, said: “Esports is a fast-growing industry on the Isle of Man, and we are delighted to be able to support X7 on their journey. As the Island’s first professional esports Org competing in a recognised tournament within the industry. It is a very exciting opportunity and demonstrates that the Isle of Man is well-placed to support other such initiatives looking to grow and develop.

‘We continue to show and prove our authenticity and passion for growing esports on the Isle of Man and powering X7 to help them on their journey to compete at the highest level is another example of this. We hope they are the first of many Orgs with Isle of Man connections, whether that’s recruiting future Isle of Man stars or basing themselves here, and we will support them every step of the way.’

Josh Kingett, Founder of X7 Esports, added: “The Isle of Man has a lot to offer in terms of supportive structures and security, and they have already proven this with traditional sports and local companies. Getting involved with esports at such a pivotal time is a good move for the Isle of Man. It’s also great to see the Island continuing to support grassroot initiatives and those wanting to make a name for themselves in this space.”

In addition to lead sponsorship from Digital Isle of Man, Amber Gaming have also partnered with X7 and are supporting them to scale their brand through the provision of consultancy and professional services, including corporate and accountancy services delivered through their group of companies.

Jade Zorab, Managing Director, Amber Gaming, commented: “The team at Amber Gaming have long been invested in the esports space. As this arena evolves, the growth of professional esports Org owners like X7 is going to be stratospheric so it is important that time is taken now to ensure that they have a robust structure and governance framework in place and are planning with protection, scalability and security in mind.”

Square Enix Montréal™, the  studio behind Hitman Sniper®, and the GO® series, has revealed the announcement trailer of its new Hitman Sniper mobile game, Hitman Sniper: The Shadows (formerly Project Hitman Sniper Assassins) at SQUARE ENIX PRESENTS E3 showcase.

Hitman Sniper: The Shadows introduces a wholly original story set in the Hitman Universe. The game focuses on events following the disappearance of Agent 47 and follows the story of The Shadows, a group of highly skilled assassins – Soji, Kiya, Kolzak, Knight, and Stone – within the hidden world of assassination, where a new criminal network threatens global stability. Diana Burnwood and the International Contract Agency (ICA) activate Initiative 426, aka The Shadows, to eliminate this threat.

Players must be meticulous, creative, and untraceable. They must strike in secret, manipulate their enemies, and use the environment to their advantage to take down high-level international targets, build their reputation and evolve into their own version of The Shadows.

“While Hitman Sniper: The Shadows builds on the fundamentals of Hitman Sniper, it is not a sequel to that experience and doesn’t share the same fictional universe. Instead, Hitman Sniper: The Shadows takes the franchise to a whole new level and experience, in terms of story, characters, and gameplay,” said Dominic Allaire, executive producer at Square Enix Montréal.

“We were given an amazing opportunity to extend the Hitman universe, not only by delivering a fresh take on the world, but also a cast of new playable characters,” said Fahad Khan, lead game designer at Square Enix Montréal. “Our new protagonists all have unique backstories and different styles that could turn into player style, amplifying their play experience, creativity and strategic choices when approaching a contract.”

Hitman Sniper: The Shadows is a free-to-play game set to be released in 2021 on iOS and Android. More exciting updates will be revealed later this year.

Slovakia-based social game developer Pixel Federation has announced a new environment-focused Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy. 

In 2020, Pixel Federation generated €47.8M in revenue and had 120M players across international markets, making it Slovakia’s biggest games development company. Its portfolio of popular free-to-play games includes Diggy’s Adventure, Seaport, Trainstation 2, and Trainstation. 

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the company pivoted its CSR strategy to support its home city of Bratislava by fundraising for frontline workers. Together with a number of other parties, the company launched a nationwide fundraising campaign, attracting the support of tech giant Amazon, ČSOB Foundation and many others, and raising over €1.4M. 

Now, with the COVID pandemic subsiding, the company is refocusing its upcoming CSR strategy towards a number of environmental projects. 

Pixel Federation Co-Founder, CSR Strategy lead and CLO, Lucia Šickova, said: “Education, the environment, culture and sport are still only an appendix on the edge of many Slovakians’ understanding of life skills. It’s a long-term and unchanged situation in non-strength sectors as they don’t have a quick return on investment. We want to ensure that the Slovakia we leave behind is better than the one we were born into.

“Our CSR strategy has always been a combination of long-term, consistent support for the projects we believe in, as well as one-time support for efforts we see as an urgent need. In recent years, we have also supported the Kramáre Hospital, the well-known Red Nose initiative, and focused our efforts to fundraise for frontline workers when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit Slovakia.”

Pixel Federation Co-Founder and former CEO, Šimon Šicko, added: “I see this activity as a partnership with the city. Our motivation is not personal or corporate PR, our motivation is impact and something that will outlive all of us.”

One initiative the company is already engaged with is planting trees in partnership with Bratislava city authorities. The first 12 trees, out of a planned 10,000, have already been planted on Šancova Street in the city.

Additionally, the Pixel Federation is also planning to work closely with BROZ (Bratislava Regional Conservation Association), which brings together professional conservationists dedicated to the protection and restoration of rare habitats in the Little Carpathians mountain range. 

Image credit: Pixel Federation

Investing in the Future through Education

The company hasn’t just made an impact with its environmental and COVID relief efforts either. Pixel Federation’s charitable ventures originally focused on raising awareness of gaming and providing opportunities for young people in a field that the country’s education system was neglecting. 

Pixel’s first educational project was the Butterfly Effect, which brought together successful Slovak digital companies including Sygic, Leaf, HubHub, and Pixel Federation, in an effort to share knowledge with young people. More than 130 program graduates successfully created 22 products and four startups as a result. 

With long-term financial support from Pixel Federation, the dedicated people behind Edulienka were able to create a standardized education system that focuses on innovative and comprehensive development of 21st century skills in socially disadvantaged children. 

Distributed among a number of schools in Slovakia, Pixel’s time and funds supported this project to ensure the expansion of the first school from 15 to 100 pupils and enabled those from socially disadvantaged families to study.

English Championship football club, Reading FC, is launching a dedicated esports platform for its supporters. 

The platform is being created by New York-based gaming solutions company Rival, and will be used to host various FIFA 21 tournaments, the first of which is slated for 17 June. 

Commenting on the news, Head of Commercial at Reading FC, Tim Kilpatrick, said: “As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of our club this season and celebrate our rich history, we are really pleased to also be looking to the future and announcing the launch of our gaming community on the Rival platform. We’ll be offering fresh content, experiences and activities that will engage and build on the popularity and connection of esports and football with the gaming community.”

Rival CMO, Dan Parise, added: “Rival is thrilled to partner with Reading to launch Royals Esports in its milestone season to connect with the global gaming audience. We look forward to working with the club to innovate with new programming and revenue opportunities, and to provide ways to integrate Reading’s sponsors into the platform.”

Reading FC is Rival’s third English football club partner, joining Premier League sides Watford and Aston Villa, and will join a roster of more than 20 clients across sports and brands, including clubs in the MLS, NFL, NHL, and NBA.