10/19/23: The Esports & Gaming Business Summit begins Sunday

Thursday October 19, 2023

Good morning! It’s Thursday and this is your early morning Esports and Gaming brief.

The Esports & Gaming Business Summit begins Sunday at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and you only have a couple more days to get your ticket to some of the most important conversations in the industry.

This year, EBS will feature three days of programming and networking, with executives from esports teams, game developers, brands and other stakeholders taking part. With participants including decision-makers at PepsiCo, Cash App, Enthusiast Gaming, Twitch, Old Spice, and dozens more, EBS brings together hundreds of the most important people in esports and gaming alongside its marquee awards show, the Tempest Awards, on Monday night.

It’s more important than ever to be in the know on industry trends and understand how your business can be impacted – and how it can thrive despite uncertainty. Join us to get in on some must-have conversations about the present, and future, of esports and gaming. Get your tickets HERE.

COMPETITION AND GAMING NEWS

The League of Legends World Championship main event began today, with the final 16 teams competing in a Swiss stage to qualify for the final eight. The play-in stage wrapped up Sunday with Europe/Middle East/Africa roster Team BDS and Vietnamese squad GAM Esports locked in spots in the 16-team field. Competition will continue through Monday before a short break in the action, leading into another Thursday start for competitors from North America, EMEA, South Korea and China alongside the two play-in qualifiers.

FaZe Clan won the Halo World Championship on Sunday after a dominant lower bracket run and comeback victory against fellow finalist OpTic Gaming at the Seattle Convention Center. FaZe was bounced to the losers bracket following group play thanks to a 3-2 loss to OpTic but swept all three of their opponents in the lower bracket. In a rematch against OpTic, FaZe overcame a rough start to win two straight series against OpTic. FaZe earned $400,000 of the event’s $1 million prize pool along with the title.

Minecraft has hit more than 300 million copies sold, an unmatched landmark in the games industry. Minecraft, which held the record for most units sold prior to hitting the 300 million milestone, is now around 115 million copies ahead of the next-most-sold title, Grand Theft Auto V. Minecraft developer Mojang Studios’ lead, Helen Chiang, called the achievement “a milestone no one could have dreamed of when we were all placing our first blocks.”

Analogue is developing a new version of the Nintendo 64 that supports 4K screens and is compatible with N64 cartridges, the hardware creator announced. The console, known as Analogue 3D, will release in 2024 and hopefully match the quality Analogue brought to the table with its SNES and Sega Genesis emulators as well as its most recent portable product, the Analogue Pocket.

SPONSORSHIP & ACTIVATION

Rapper Post Malone is coming to Apex Legends as part of a two-week in-game collaboration. The event teaser, which showed the in-game activation will begin Nov. 7, also featured Apex character Octane, providing some insight into which legend will be the focal point of the event. Malone, who’s known as a big gaming fan, will bring “two weeks of beautiful mayhem” to the battle royale title.

The Brawlhalla World Championship is partnering with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Skillshot Media to promote the charity in-game during a marquee moment for the Ubisoft fighting game title. Players who donate to Make-A-Wish during the Brawlhalla World Championship, which is taking place from Nov. 3-5 in Atlanta, will earn in-game items and be in the running for a unique in-game collectible each day.

Rocket League and The Nightmare Before Christmas is the collab we didn’t know we needed during Halloween season, and Psyonix and Disney brought just that to fans earlier this week. The Haunted Hollows event includes in-game challenges and new cosmetics themed after The Nightmare Before Christmas characters Jack Skellington, Oogie Boogie, and Sandy Claws. The event and an affiliated limited-time game mode will be available until Nov. 1.

Riot Games has created a new virtual boy band known as HEARTSTEEL as part of its ongoing venture into the music market. HEARTSTEEL features League of Legends characters voiced by performers Baekhyun, Cal Scruby, ØZI and Tobi Lou. HEARTSTEEL will release its first single, PARANOIA, on Oct. 23. Fans hope it will be a memorable follow-up to Riot’s past efforts with all-girl virtual pop group K/DA, which similarly featured artists performing as League of Legends personas. K/DA’s trio of (G)I-DLE, Jaira Burns and Madison Beer earned a No. 1 spot on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales Chart for POP/STARS in 2018.

STREAMHATCHET

Japanese Roleplay Server Boosts Ark: Survival Evolved Live Streaming Viewership

Ark: Survival Evolved hit the top live streaming charts at the beginning of the month when its official servers reset in preparation for the release of the remake later this month, Ark: Survival Ascended.
Ark was the 3rd most-watched game (4th if you include Just Chatting) from October 2nd to October 13th, jumping 104 spots from the weeks prior. It generated 34.4 million hours watched in that time period. On October 4th, Ark: Survival Evolved overtook GTA V as the most-watched game with almost 3.9 million hours watched (GTA V had 3.8M).

The game’s live-streaming success was driven primarily by the Japanese streaming community, who participated in a private role-playing server for the first few weeks of the month. Vaultroom, a gaming room and event site partnered up with the esports/content creator team Crazy Raccoon. Popular Japanese creators, including fps_Shaka and Vtubers on both Twitch and YouTube generated millions of hours watched through their participation on this co-branded server.

Read more on Stream Hatchet’s blog.

2023 Esports & Gaming Business Summit

3, 2, 1…

There are only three days until the start of this year’s Esports & Gaming Business Summit! Purchase your ticket to be at the center of the esports ecosystem.

MORE INFO HERE

YOUGOV LIVING DATA INSIGHTS

Is esports betting catching up to sports betting in the US?

Data for online gambling activity suggests that esports betting is rapidly gaining popularity, particularly among younger demographics, challenging traditional sports betting. Overall, 9% of US gamblers engaged in esports betting over the past month, while 22% engaged in sports betting. While older age groups, particularly those aged 65 and above, lean heavily towards traditional sports betting, with only 1% betting on esports, the 18-29 age group displays a much stronger affinity for esports betting, with 15% participation. Sports betting retains primacy among this young group too (23%), but the gap is far less significant.

TEAMS

The Call of Duty League’s Seattle Surge have revealed their roster, with a mix of veteran talent and a promising rookie. Longtime Call of Duty pros such as Alec “Arcitys” Sanderson, Cuyler “Huke” Garland and Indervir “iLLeY” Dhaliwal form a strong core where rookie Jordan “Abuzah” François can develop and shine. The entirely rebuilt Surge squad will hope to turn things around for Seattle, which exited the season finale, CDL Champs, in the first round this year.

Moist Esports’ Apex Legends team is changing regions in 2024, with the creator-funded Apex Legends Global Series roster shifting from competing in the Asia-Pacific South Pro League to the North America Pro League. The move lands Moist amid some tough competition, but other squads have made the switch and remained successful: DarkZero, one of the main contenders at this year’s ALGS World Championship, went from APAC South to North America in 2022 and won a title that same year.

League of Legends veteran Huang “Maple” Yi-Tang is retiring after more than a decade as an esports pro. Maple, best known for his time in the League of Legends Masters Series on Flash Wolves, announced his retirement following PSG Talon’s elimination from the League of Legends World Championship Play-In Stage. The mid laner will go down as one of the best players to ever compete in the region, now known as the Pacific Championship Series, following near-perennial international appearances with Flash Wolves and brief stints in China (Suning Gaming and Anyone’s Legend) and North America (TSM).

INDUSTRY

Bethesda head of publishing Pete Hines is retiring, he announced Monday, ending a 24-year career that featured some of gaming’s best-known role-playing games. Hines helped architect series such as Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom and, most recently, the highly anticipated and globally successful Starfield. “This was not a decision I came to easily or quickly,” Hines said in a statement. “But after an amazing career, culminating in the incredible launch of Starfield, it feels like the time is right.”

Bandcamp has laid off 50% of its staff following Epic Games’ sale of the music platform. Epic Games acquired Bandcamp in March 2022, but amid cost-cutting that included layoffs of 16% of its workforce, or 830 people, Epic spun off Bandcamp, which was then acquired by Songtradr. Songtradr has refused to recognize the online indie music store’s union, Bandcamp United, amid the acquisition and ensuing layoffs.

Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision-Blizzard is complete. After two years of debate amongst regulatory bodies and attempts to assure global watchdogs that the deal would not create a monopoly in the games industry, Microsoft now has Activision-Blizzard and mobile giant King under its umbrella, and what happens next will likely reshape everything from hardware, software, and cloud gaming in the years to come.

Nearly 60% of gamers list stress relief and relaxation as a top reason they play, according to a report from the Entertainment Software Association. Stress relief trailed only passing the time (63%) and having fun (69%) as motivations for playing, and 71% of participants reported that playing games makes them feel less stressed. Other benefits included a decrease in anxiety and feelings of isolation or loneliness.

Cynopsis – Reaching Audience in 2024 – Virtual Event – December 7th

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Connect with 400+ industry leaders and elevate your brand in 2024 by positioning yourself among top experts in the space.

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TRIVIA
The recently released Spider-Man 2 has been heralded as the latest masterpiece for which game developer? (Email [email protected] with your answer, and be sure to include your name, company and city).

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
What day is the 2023 edition of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III slated to release? Answer: November 10. Kudos: Tom Moore | Kalt Productions, Los Angeles; David Westberg | SAG•AFTRA Federal Credit Union, Burbank, California

Cynopsis Team

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Editorial Director
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Kerry Smith
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