Getting Competitive
There was an 87% increase in esports jobs in 2019
The US offered the most opportunities
Esports In China
China has a big plan to become the global centre of the games industry
Mobvista CEO Clement Cao talks us through the moves that China is making
Blizzard In The Cloud
Activision Blizzard and Google sign up for strategic "multi-year" streaming partnership
YouTube becomes exclusive streaming partner outside of China
Esports
Super League Gaming partners with Wanda Cinemas Games to expand esports further in China
Over 700 locations across China will be utilised for the events
2020 Trends
Garena's Jason Ng on the rise of sophisticated gameplay on mobile
Free Fire breaks esport records
2019 In Review
Bitkraft's Malte Barth on the success' of 2019 and what to expect in 2020
"I expect to see significant growth in Southeast Asia"
No Drops Here
PUBG Mobile Club Open Final 2019 draws in 532 million viewers
57 million hours viewed in total
Pgc London
Discover more about esports at Pocket Gamer Connects London's Esports Academy
It is one of 15 tracks to feature at the event
A New Way To Play
Edge Esports' David Yarnton on dealing with constant change
From Nintendo to what's next
Growing Market
Esports platform Game.tv raises $25 million in Series A funding
Adding AI
Starting New
Pole To Win opens new game studio - Orange Rock Studios
The time to be disruptive is now
New Investment
PatronGG raises $1 million for its Kokyo esports app
The seed round was led by Bitkraft Esports Ventures
Hot Stuff
Indian powerhouse Nazara looking to invest $20 million in gaming and esport startups
Has already invested $50 million in past two years
More Cash
Skillz raises funding from NFL's 32 Equity investment arm
Former Airbnb chief financial officer Laurence Tosi has also been appointed to the board of directors
City Limits
16-city PUBG Mobile US esports tournament kicking off in December 2019
Backed by Super League Gaming, Tencent and OnePlus
Emerging Markets Hit
Garena’s battle royale game Free Fire surpasses $1 billion of lifetime revenue
Ranked up the achievement in two years
Let Them Clash
$400,000 Clash Royale League World Finals 2019 to take place in LA on 7 December
Event will be presented by Google Play
Girl Power
BlizzCon 2019 sees first major female Hearthstone champion
VKLiooon roars
Shot Down
17-year-old Fortnite esports pro Jarvis Kaye permanently banned for using aimbot
Bad mistake
Big Guns
World of Tanks Blitz's global championship to offer $100,000 prize pool
Winners take home $50,000
No Magic Formula
What makes Summoners War a successful esport?
Gamevil Com2uS' David Mohr explains
Top Dogs
Nova Esports scoops $250,000 winning the first Clash of Clans World Championships
Total prize pot was $1 million
Esports Boost
Meta Games secures $2 million in seed funding round
The company will use it to aid for upcoming games
Bit Of A Gamble
KamaGames is now letting users bet on esports events
Slots revenue has increased by 69 per cent in the first half of 2019
New Friends
Skillz partners with IGDA to aid game developers
“Game makers are the unsung heroes of esports designing the engaging content that drives a growing multi-billion dollar industry forward”
China Expansion
Huya picks up minority stake in ESL for $30m
The two companies plan to expand esports services in China following the deal
Mobile Esports
Mobile esports games earned $15.3 billion in 2018
Over 51% of China’s domestic games market was grossed by mobile titles.
Esports Team
Pole to Win launches its own PUBG Mobile esports team
Orange Rock Esports to compete at the Vodafone 5G PUBG Mobile finals in Milan
New Investment
Nazara Technologies acquires a 67 per cent stake in Sportskeeda
The company is closing in on 100 million active monthly users
New Partnerships
Seven new partners brought in for the first $1m Auto Chess Invitational tournament
The final is being hosted from October 25th to October 27th in Shanghai
Prize Payment
New esports payment solution Prize Payments launches
Company estimates that $300 million will be paid out in prize money in 2019
Esports Park
NetEase plots $725 million esports park investment in Shanghai
The facilities will be located in Shanghai
Winner Winner
Fortnite World Cup drops $30 million in prize money
A teenager won the solo competition taking home $3 million
Seed Funding
Strafe gets $3 million in seed funding for esports companion app
The app currently covers eight games
New Competition
Skillz reveals $25,000 Global Game Development Challenge
First competition was won by the CodeCube Brothers
Funding News
Esports outfit 100 Thieves raises $35m
Organisation plans to develop a new 15,000 square ft HQ in LA
Esports Funding
Pixion Games raises $2 million to fund mobile esports development
“We are seeing a re-segmentation of casual players looking for a more core experience on mobile”
Esports
PGC Hong Kong: ENCE esports CEO Mika Kuusisto to speak about the future of competitive play
Pocket Gamer Connects Hong Kong 2019 will take place on July 17th to 18th
Esports Academy
4 videos from Pocket Gamer connects Seattle 2019's Esports Academy track
The series of talks includes speakers from the likes of PiiK Games, Riot Games, Genvid Technologies, ESP Gaming and more
Clash Of Clans
$1 million Clash of Clans World Championship heads to Hamburg in October
More than 40 million players have competed in a series of qualifiers in the game’s new 5v5 play mode
Job News
Blizzard's global esports director Kim Phan has left the company
Less than a month after Overwatch League commissioner Nate Nanzer departed the firm for Epic Games.
Esports And Kpl
Check out the Esports and Key Opinion Leaders track at Pocket Gamer Connects Hong Kong
Pocket Gamer Connects Hong Kong will run from July 17th to 18th
Move Over Razer
Report: Tencent and Asus to unveil new gaming phone in July
The mobile is said to be designed for esports fanatics and hardcore gamers
Delf 2019
Hong Kong’s three-day Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum delves into esports, blockchain and mobile gaming
DELF Main Forum and Blockchain and Pocket Gamer Connects take place between July 16th and 18th
Job News
Epic Games hires Overwatch League commissioner Nate Nanzer to drive esports
"This has been the toughest decision of my life"
Esports
Gameloft launches esports tournament series for Asphalt 9: Legends
A prize fund of $22,325.00 (€20,000) is up for grabs
Season 2
Supercell partners with South Korean TV network OGN for Clash Royale League
Handling production in the West and Asia
Jobs In Games
Jobs in Games: Gameloft’s Hugues Ossart on organising international events and esports
"The most important thing in esports is keeping the player at the heart of the experience"
Expansion
Esports organisation Immortals raises $30 million in funding
Firm also acquires Brazilian matchmaking platform Gamers Club
Esports
Fnatic expands its esports operation by raising $19 million in funding
British esports firm hopes to employ 1000 people worldwide by 2024