How RankingBall will help leagues and developers connect with their audiences

GDC (Global Digital Content)
3 min readApr 17, 2018

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RankingBall is positioned as a massive, independent platform that aims to bring game developers, publishers, streamers and the general (e)sports media together.

Perhaps the biggest pillar of this ecosystem is the games themselves, and without developers we wouldn’t have any games to begin with! Game developers will find that they don’t need to design and develop specifically for RankingBall. Everything they’ve made already works on our platform and will change the way fans and gamers interact with their games.

Ken Hershman

“It has always been challenging for sports networks to directly engage with the viewers. RankingBall offers a very intriguing way to narrow the gap between the league, broadcasters, and the television audience,” said Ken Hershman, past president of HBO sports, current head of the World Esports Association, and advisor for RankingBall. Hershman has played an instrumental role in helping the team to forge partnerships with broadcasters and developers.

Our technology also allows broadcasters to pose questions to the fans and receive answers in real time during a live broadcast. They could allow fans to make play-by-play predictions during a sports match, for example, or offer trivia contests with prizes for winners. This direct interaction with the fans will help towards building a better community and also provide feedback and data to the developers and leagues.

RankingBall players will be able to connect with the game in new and exciting ways too. Before a game begins, fans can create or enter a single-match fantasy esports bingo contest to compete head-to-head against other fans for prizes. These contests are created and backed by smart contracts thanks to the blockchain aspect of RankingBall. Players can jump into automatic matchmaking and easily set up matches between two or more players. Publishers can also tap into this service to promote their games, by giving players around the world more incentives and ways to compete as they watch.

When the game begins, they can then watch the match live via user-controlled camera angles to follow whichever esports players they choose, something that is impossible with traditional broadcasts on TV or Twitch. They can check up on any part of the game map at any time they choose. It’s almost like being there, as a part of the game. They can even check their own bingo game status, which gets updated in real time. The whole user journey is a very active gaming experience that makes the fans feel like they’re a part of the action.

“In the era of streaming, having a unique layer of interactive gameplay on top of live match broadcasts fits perfectly with the rise of esports,” said Hershman.

RankingBall provides incentives and excitement beyond standard streaming in so many ways. We’re very excited to be revolutionizing the way fans enjoy their favorite games.

As always, feel free to get in touch via our Telegram Channel here.

-RankingBall Team

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