You’d be right in thinking this week in esports has seen plenty of new and exciting developments come to fruition! From two new Overwatch League franchises to major investors in both Immortals and Team SoloMid, it’s been a big week in the industry.
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Paris, Guangzhou are reportedly joining Overwatch League
Two of six expansion slots for the Overwatch League are close to being finalised, according to a report from ESPN. Paris and Guangzhou are both set to have teams should it all go through.
The Paris slot is being bought by McCourt Global, a holding company in Los Angeles with owns football club Olympique de Marseille; while the Guangzhou slot is being courted by Nenking Group, an umbrella company owned by billionaire Zhong Naixiong.
Read the full article here.
Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman invests in esports org Immortals
Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., has invested in North American organisation Immortals. With this investment, she has also taken a seat on the board.
Whitman, when explaining her thoughts on esports and why she’s diving into the industry in such a way, said that “the team is focused on building a sustainable and diversified esports business that goes beyond team operations and has ambitions to become the first billion dollar global esports business.”
Read the full article here.
Team SoloMid parent company receives $37m in funding round
The parent company of Team SoloMid has raised $37m (£28.17m) in Series A funding. The investment was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with $10m (£7.6m) going on further investment in esports and $20m (£15.2m) in franchising fees & a new esports facility in California.
This investment round saw the likes of Golden State Warriors players Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala, NFL player Steve Young and Yahoo Co-Founder Jerry Yang all invest in the company.
Read the full article here.
PUBG Corp. to incorporate five-year esports plan
PUBG Corp. has devised a five-year plan for its Battle Royale title, announcing the news at a media conference prior to the PUBG Global Invitational getting underway.
Starting in 2019, PUBG Corp. plans to introduce open, non-franchised Pro Leagues in Europe, North America, Korea, and China – more may be added from 2020, too. A revenue-sharing system has now been introduced with branded in-game items, and the developer is working hard to improve the UI and spectator system for those who watch instead of play.
Read the full article here.
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