According to a report by Sohu Sports, Tencent has made an undisclosed investment in Versus Programming Network (VSPN).
The report claims the two companies have signed a strategic partnership to further lay the groundwork for the Chinese esports ecosystem. VSPN will also develop its integrated services which include competition, production and brokering deals with on-screen talent.
VSPN have organised a number competitive events for Tencent owned developers or games published by Tencent in China, Including PUBG, Clash Royale, League of Legends, CrossFire, FIFA Online 3 and Honor of Kings. VSPN claimed this latest deal will see them able to reach 280m people with its tournaments.
KPL recently adopted a franchised model for the popular mobile title Honor of Kings, which is owned by Tencent, with the tournament run by VSPN. The KPL comprises of city-based teams, with twelve teams in the spring split. The league is currently split into two divisions, eastern and western, based in the cities of Shanghai and Chengdu respectively.
The LPL (League of Legends Pro League) which is also owned by Tencent who have total ownership of Riot Games, developer of League of Legends. The LPL is organised by VSPN much like the KPL which is why the investment from Tencent makes so much sense.
This news follows on from another busy month for Tencent, with their huge investment into Fortnite, with the company already owning a 40% stake in Fortnite developer Epic Games.
Esports Insider says: Tencent is an unstoppable force in gaming and esports, with stakes in some of the worlds biggest esports, plus a near monopoly on one of the worlds biggest game playing countries, China. Tencent is clearly showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon with more developers joining the social media giants growing portfolio by the month.
