Your Gaming and Esports Update
Deals
Simplicity Esports Announces Sale of Four New Franchise Territories
Simplicity Esports and Gaming Company, owner and manager of multiple esports teams, including Flamengo Esports, and an operator of Esports Gaming Centers, announced today that it has sold four new franchise territories covering Oxford, MS, Corpus Christi, TX and McAllen, TX. Oxford, MS is the home of “Ole Miss,” The University of Mississippi, and will be complementary to Simplicity Esports’ existing esports gaming center in Biloxi, MS. The McAllen and Corpus Christi locations will expand Simplicity Esports’ footprint along the southern gulf coast of Texas. With anticipated grand openings in 2020, the locations, as well as all future franchises, will be opened and exclusively branded as Simplicity Esports gaming centers.
Tempo Storm Raises $3.3M
Today, Tempo Storm announced they raised $3.3 million in their latest funding round. Interactive content and technology investor Galaxy Interactive leads the funding via its Galaxy EOS VC Fund. Funding will be used to “reach beyond the confines of the traditional esports organizations boundaries.” Tempo Storm funds some of the best teams and players for many popular games. Hearthstone, Super Smash Bros, Magic: The Gathering, Shadowverse, PUBG Mobile, Rainbow Six Siege all has Tempo Storm hands in it.
Updates
ESL Pro League Season 11 Finals Will Be In Denver
ESL has announced that the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Pro League Finals will take place in Denver, Colorado for Season 11. The 1st Bank Center will play host to the LAN finals over April 10–12th, with teams competing for a share of the $750,000 prize pool. Twenty-four teams in total will be taking part in the Pro League this season after initial invites were brought into question by rival league FLASHPOINT. 13 teams — including Astralis, Fnatic, and G2 Esports — are now stakeholders through long-term partnerships and cannot be relegated. The regular season will be played in Europe, leaving just one day between the final group stage matches, the final play-in game, and the opening matches of the playoffs.
ESL Partners With Supercell to Run Brawl Stars Championship
Event organizer ESL has announced a partnership with Supercell, the developer of Brawl Stars, that will see it deliver the Brawl Stars Championship. Supercell will commit $1 million (£777,000) to the event. with the total prize pool set to rise by up to 50 percent with community contributions through in-game purchases. The Brawl Stars Championship is open to players worldwide, who can qualify online to participate in-person at the monthly finals. The world finals will take place this autumn, with a $1 million (£777,000) prize pool that could be bolstered by up to $500,000 (£389,000) through crowdfunding.
Nintendo Partners With Battlefy
Competitive tournament platform Battlefy has partnered with Nintendo of America to host amateur competitions for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The collaboration will see Battlefy’s upcoming Super Smash Bros. North America Ultimate Online Open Spring 2020 competition kick-off as early as next week. As per the deal, Nintendo will assist in promoting Battlefy’s Super Smash Bros. tournaments across its official channels as well as funding travel and prizing components throughout the year. As for Battlefy, the company and its team will handle all aspects of tournament operations including setup, matchmaking, disputes, and general administration.
Pokemon Home Ammasses Over 1.3M Downloads in First Week
Pokémon Home has earned 1.3 million downloads on Android and iOS in its first week of availability, according to market analyst Sensor Tower. Home launched on February 12. According to VentureBeat, “the app lets users store and transfer Pokémon to different games. At launch, Home doesn’t support Pokémon Go, which would be a big driver for mobile downloads. Home is also available on Switch, but we do not know how many downloads it has hit on that platform.” While Home is free to download, users are required to pay for a subscription plan if they want to transfer Pokemon between games or open up more storage space. Thanks to that monetization, Home has earned $1.8 million on mobile so far.
Private Division Opens New Studio in Seattle
Take-Two Interactive Software’s indie-publishing label Private Division is opening a new studio in the Seattle area. The company plans for this team to work exclusively on rocket-launching simulator Kerbal Space Program 2. Private Division announced the Kerbal sequel at the Gamescom fan event in August. At that time, studio Star Theory was in charge of development. But now the publisher is spinning up a Kerbal-dedicated group. Studio head Jeremy Ables, creative director Nate Simpson, and lead producer Nate Robinson are moving from Star Theory to the new team. Kerbal Space Program 2 is due out at some point from April 2020 through March 2021.
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