Your Gaming and Esports Update

Taylor Hurst
Nov 7 · 6 min read

Deals

Scopely Hits Unicorn Status With Series D Funding

LA-based mobile video game maker Scopely has now been named a unicorn following its announcement of a $200 million Series D funding round on Tuesday. This brings the company a total of $458 million raised to date and valuation of approximately $1.7 billion. In a report from Variety, the latest funding was said to be led by the venture capital firm NewView Capital, along with the participation of other investors, including BlackRock, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Baillie Gifford, Greycroft Partners, Revolution Growth, and Sands Capital Ventures. According to the same source, the gaming company is set to utilize newly-amassed funds to accelerate its M&A and investment activities in order to develop and acquire new games.

EVOS Esports Closes $4.4M

Singapore-based startup EVOS Esports has raised US$4.4 million in Series A funds as it looks to seize the untapped market of gaming influencer management in South-east Asia. The initial close of US$3 million at the start of the year was funded by Insignia Ventures Partners, while an additional US$1.4 million came from a group of angel investors from leading conglomerates in Indonesia, as well as from the top-level management of a leading e-commerce player in China.

Mainline Closes $6.8M

Mainline, an esports tournament software and management company, today announced it raised a $6.8 million Series A funding round led by Work America Capital , alongside investments from individual investors in professional sports and other strategic backers. Mainline will use the funds to enhance its esports tournament software technology platform; increase its marketing presence; hire development, marketing and sales talent; and expand its event management customer base to additional major brands.

eFuse Closes $1.4M

eFuse has raised $1.4 million in seed funding to launch a web and mobile application geared toward connecting gamers, coaches, recruiters and business professionals in the esports industry, which could reach an audience of 450 million this year. An estimate from Goldman Sachs predicts esports revenue could top $3 billion in the coming decade. The eFuse platform is backed by the Ohio Innovation Fund, which provided some of the seed funding. It will formally launch Dec. 10.

Team Vitality Closes $15.5M

Team Vitality has received a $15.5 million round of funding, bringing its total fundraising to $37.7 million. The second round of funding comes from Rewired.GG, an esports-focused investing group funded by Tej Kohli. Rewired.GG was also responsible for the initial $22 million investment made in 2018. Team Vitality currently fields teams in FIFA, League of Legends, Fortnite and CS:GO and employs around 100 people.

Updates

Deutsche Telekom Becomes Official Partner of Premier Tour

Deutsche Telekom has announced that they will be the official partner of Riot Games’ Premier Tour. The company wants to expand its footprint in the German League of Legends scene. According to Esports Insider, “this is not the first time that the telecoms giant has been involved in the esports space, however. Deutsche Telekom partnered with — and provided financial support to — SK Gaming in June last year to aid in its re-entrance into League of Legends.” The Premier Tour 2019 Winter Cup, which runs for most of November, sees 12 teams compete for a currently-undisclosed prize pool.

Le Mans Esports Series Announces Second Season

The Le Mans Esport Series will return for a second season in 2020, with a new format and a doubled prize fund of $200,000. Season one ended with a 24-hour marathon event right in the Le Mans Village, ahead of the real-world race. The Veloce Esports team took the overall victory, but for 2020 it won’t be all about the pro drivers. This year, there’ll be a two-tier event, with both a Pro and a Pro-Am division. The two groups will qualify separately for next year’s final, again taking place during the 24 Hours of Le Mans race weekend and within the Le Mans Village.

HyperX Announced as Official Sponsor For PUBG Global Championship

HyperX, the gaming division of Kingston Technology, today announced its sponsorship of the PUBG Global Championship 2019, a continuation of their partnership with PUBG Corporation, following their sponsorship of the PUBG Nations Cup 2019. As an Official Sponsor, HyperX will provide gaming headsets, keyboards, and mice for the tournament, including the Cloud Alpha, Cloud Earbuds, Pulsefire FPS Pro, Alloy FPS RGB and FURY RGB SSD. The partnership was brokered by Lagardère Sports, the exclusive sponsorship rights agent for PUBG’s Nations Cup and Global Championship.

John Spiher Hired as Director of Partnerships at Dignitas

Esports organisation Dignitas has hired John Spiher as its Director of Partnerships & Activations. In his new role, he will work with the organization’s team to help create and amplify partnerships. Spiher commented on his new venture to Esports Insider: “The organization has a strong infrastructure, great staff, tenured leadership, and an unmatched ownership group. These combined have created the powerful culture that is Dignitas, and I am honored to be a part of the team. Looking forward, I hope to bolster our already-strong partnerships team as we further develop impactful campaigns with current and future brands.”

New Game Releases This Month (Credit: GameSpot)

  1. Red Dead Redemption 2 — Nov 5 (PC): Red Dead Redemption 2 was GameSpot’s 2018 Game of the Year, so the PC release is a pretty big deal. This version of the game looks better than ever thanks to better textures and lighting, plus 4K/HDR support on capable PCs. You can also check out new story content, including more Gang Hideouts and Bounty Hunts.
  2. Death Stranding — Nov 8 (PS4): Hideo Kojima’s latest project is still largely wrapped in mystery, but the elevator pitch is this: Sam Bridges (played by The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus) makes delivers across a shattered United States. Also there are shadow monsters, psychic babies, and tons of celebrity cameos. The game was also just announced for PC, in case you want to wait until summer 2020 to play that version.
  3. Pokemon Sword & Shield — Nov 15 (Switch): By this point, you probably know what you’re getting with a Pokemon game, but Sword & Shield are mixing things up. The new Galar Region has its own variants of classic Pokemon like Weezing and Ponyta, plus region-specific evolutions for Farfetch’d and Linoone. Sword & Shield also introduce new giant, kaiju-like monsters called Dynamax Pokemon, some of which can even change form, known as Gigantamax Pokemon.
  4. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order — Nov 15 (PS4, Xbox One, PC): It might sound cliche, but Fallen Order’s combat really does feel like the Dark Souls games. In fact, if you die, you’ll have to defeat the last enemy you fought to regain your lost XP, a la Bloodborne. It’s pretty fitting that this original Star Wars story is challenging, since protagonist Cal Kestis is one of the few surviving Jedi Padawans after Order 66.

Konvoy Ventures

Esports & Video Gaming || Venture Capital

Taylor Hurst

Written by

Konvoy Ventures

Esports & Video Gaming || Venture Capital

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