The top SEA business developments in October 2020

06 November 2020

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Southeast Asia’s esports industry continues to strengthen with every passing month and so at Esports Insider, in collaboration with AFK Gaming, we constantly keep track of this blossoming region.

Here’s a rundown of the big esports business stories for Southeast Asia in the month of October.

Riot reveals Valorant 2021 plans for Southeast Asia

Riot Games has revealed its plans for Valorant in Southeast Asia and how they are looking to develop the esports ecosystem for the title. The announcement revealed a list of seven names, across various countries in SEA, that will host official and collegiate tournaments in 2021, including the qualifiers for First Strike, later this month. 

Read the full story here. 

AcadArena and Bren Esports develop esports and gaming courses

Philippines-based Bren Esports partnered with esports campus initiative AcadArena to develop esports and gaming courses in the country. The aim of the campaign will be to develop the right skills within those looking to enter the industry. As part of the deal, AcadArena will also be creating training modules to help Bren Esports’ personnel. 

Read the full story here. 

EVOS Esports raises $12m, in Series B

Attention Holdings, the parent company behind EVOS Esports raised $12m (~£9.2m) in its series B round. The round was led by Korea Investment Partners with participation from existing shareholder Insignia Ventures Partners and newcomers Mirae Asset Ventures, Woowa Brothers, and Indogen Capital.

The organisation, based in Indonesia, has operations across SEA and the investment will be used to cement EVOS’s position as the top organisation in the region. In addition to the investment,  EVOS also partnered with Newzoo to conduct market research and analysis of the SEA region. 

Read the full story here. 

Malaysian Ministry of Youth and Sports launches esports initiative

The Malaysian Ministry of Youth and Sports has partnered with Impact Integrated to announce an initiative called Esports Integrated. The initiative will look to develop esports in the region with plans to develop a centralised platform for tournaments, creating a Malaysian esports circuit and advocating for better regulatory framework and guidelines. 

Talon Esports raises $2M in seed round

Credit: Talon Esports

Hong Kong based esports organisation, Talon Esports raised $2m(~£1.5m) as part of its seed round. Participants in the funding round included Widus Strategic Investments, EMC Capital, Widus Strategic Investments, and founder of esports marketing agency United Esports, Felix LaHayeThe organisation will use the investment to expand its lifestyle value offering alongside expansion into new countries and competitive titles.

Read the full story here. 

Esports makes a comeback at SEA Games 2021

Successful lobbying by various stakeholders in SEA means that esports will be part of the SEA Games 2021, after initially being scrapped due to budget constraints. A formal announcement is expected to be made in the coming month but the SEA Games Federation has already approved four new disciplines including esports. 

AFK Gaming is India-based esports media and content company that aims to provide quality and consistent coverage about teams, players, tournaments and competitive video games with a primary focus on the Asian region.