The emphasis on attracting esports companies and events to Malta paves the way for Malta to become a mainstay in the global esports circuit for multiple titles, Quickfire CEO Simon Theuma told this newsroom.
Esports is the world of competitive and professional gaming, and Quickfire have been in the Malta esports scene for over three years. They have organised competitive gaming events, B2B educational events such as the Malta Esports Forum, and are spearheading the sector on the island.
Worldwide, the whole esports market has gone leaps and bounds over the past decade. Just this September, The International Dota 2 Championships raised a record-breaking prize pool of $25,000,000, and next month Malta will for the first time be hosting a similar event for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) professionals with an unprecedented prize pool of $150,000.
Theuma was pleased that the government is making good on its promise to support and help grow the esports industry locally, and he pointed out that apart from the "obvious benefits for Quickfire, it also incentivises other big esports companies to set up shop here".
"Thus creating a B2B community similarly to what Malta enjoys in the iGaming sector."
In spite of this pledge, it is important to note that no specific policies were outlined in the Budget. Theuma hits on this in his comments, noting that it's currently too early to comment on what effect this will have when combined with the allocated budget as the policy has not been made public yet.
Individual Maltese players have also made headlines in the esports world with the FIFA player Kurt Fenech reaching the semi-finals at the FIFA eWorld Cup in London, walking away with a cool $20,000 prize for his performance, and $35,000 in winnings throughout his career. He went on to announce his retirement from playing FIFA for the foreseeable future following accusations of 'abusive behaviour' by EA Sports, and a two-month ban to boot.
He has since announced on his twitter that he will be seeking legal advice, with the #Freekurt even trending on twitter.
In 2019 it is estimated that 427 million people worldwide are spectators on the side-lines of some form of esports, particularly with the rise of online streaming on platforms such as Youtube and Twitch. Not to mention that esports is fast becoming one of largest markets in the entertainment industry, with $130 million in revenue in 2012, to an estimated $1.65 billion by 2021.
Focusing on the upcoming Supernova CS:GO Malta tournament that is to be held at the end of November, Theuma expressed that this event will be looked back on as a turning point for the industry.
"In reality, it also means higher stakes for us, since now it feels like a national agenda is riding on our performance. Nevertheless, I have no doubts that, given the amount of preparation we're doing for the event, and our industry partners, we can deliver an amazing show."
from The Malta Independent https://ift.tt/2F4XvKq
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment