World Cyber Games 2019 (“WCG”) recently announced DOTA2 as the first official game title for the return of its global esports event.
On Sep.3, 2018, WCG officially announced cooperation with Qujiang New District of Xi’an, China to host the WCG 2019 finals from July 18 to July 21 in 2019. After five years’ reflection and preparation, WCG Inc. has incorporated various high-tech and modern ideas into its return. On Feb. 13, WCG released a new version of its theme song ‘Beyond the Game’ with world class DJ Steve Aoki to build hype around its return.
Moreover, WCG also suggests it will show off some new technology with relation to esports including AR, VR and Robotics. Up to now, WCG has revealed four official game titles, including DOTA2, Clash Royale and Chinese mobile game Honor of Kings. Completing the lineup so far is Blizzard’s classic title Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.
This successful return of WCG would not be possible without the full support of the People’s Government of Xi’an. In 2017, Xi’an started to develop local esports industry and the Qujiang New District was selected as the cultural and creative industry base to accelerate local esports development. In 2018, Qujiang New District partnered with multiple Chinese esports giants like Team WE and Banana Culture to build an extensive platform for esports development. At present, Qujiang New District has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with WCG Inc. to prepare for the return of this world renowned esports festival, and it is expected that all esports fans will keep a keen eye on Xi’an to witness the return of WCG in July.
WCG, which started its first event in 2000, has been recognized as the world’s largest esports competition for 14 years and its last event was held in Kunshan, China in 2013. The regulation is the same as WESG, which follows the Olympic standard and emphasizes national pride. From 2000-2010, it’s safe to say that WCG can be considered as the most important international esports league in the world.
Esports Insider says: In the current esports industry, it is not common to see the third-party esports events instantly attracting the attention of esports fans around the world. As one of, if not the, most famous esports competition ever, the return of WCG may be a game-changer.