SAN MATEO, California – (BUSINESS WIRE) – Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (“SIE”) and RTS, a new company born out of Endeavor’s electronic sports business, today announced that they have acquired the assets and properties of the Evolution Championship Series (“Evo”), the biggest fight in the world. game world event, from Triple Perfect, Inc., through an esports partnership in a joint venture.
Through this new partnership, Tony and Tom Cannon, co-founders of Evo, will continue to be closely involved as key consultants to ensure that Evo remains a single-base competitive platform for players and fans of fighting games across the globe. This collaboration will further boost Evo as the premier fighting game tournament and promote the continued growth of the competitive gaming community across all platforms.
With the support of world-class publishers, Evo is returning this year as Evo Online, a completely online competition that takes place from 6 to 8 August and from 13 to 15 August. Entrance will be free and players in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America * will be able to compete at BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment’s Tekken 7, Capcom’s Street Fighter V: Champion Edition, Warner Bros. Games’ Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate **, and Arc System Works’ Guilty Gear™ -Effort- in open format. Online qualifiers will be broadcast live to fans, and more details will be shared in the coming weeks at evo.gg.
“Fighting games have been a vital part of the PlayStation and our community legacy since the beginning, and we are excited to partner with Evo over the years, ”said Steven Roberts, VP, Global Competitive Gaming, SIE. “This joint acquisition with RTS marks a new chapter in collaboration with the co-founders of Evo, Tom and Tony Cannon, and their passionate community of fighting game fans. ”
“Evo is a unique and iconic community unlike any other in the fighting game space, and we are proud to partner with the SIE team and the legends who are Tom and Tony – as well as Mark Julio as Head of Business Development – to help grow Evo, ”said Stuart Saw, CEO of RTS. “We have so many exciting plans in store for this year and beyond. ”
“Tom and I are incredibly excited to be partnering with SIE and RTS, ”said Tony Cannon, co-founder of Evo. “Both companies bring extensive experience and share our passion for what makes the fighting game community so great. We look forward to working with them to launch Evo to the next level, while staying true to our roots. ”
As a result of the acquisition, Evo will be operated by the newly formed joint venture between SIE and RTS. The terms of this transaction, including the cost of acquisition and division of ownership of the joint venture, are not disclosed due to contractual commitments.
* Players in the following locations can participate: United States, Canada, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Venezuela, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, Guyana French, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Ireland, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Western Russia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
** Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate will operate only in the regions of North America, Europe and Latin America.
About Sony Interactive Entertainment
Recognized as a global leader in interactive and digital entertainment, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) is responsible for the PlayStation® brand and the family of products and services. PlayStation has brought innovation to the market since the launch of the original PlayStation in Japan in 1994. The PlayStation family of products and services includes PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, PlayStation®VR, PlayStation ™ Store, PlayStation®Plus, PlayStation ™ Video, PlayStation ™ Music, PlayStation ™ Now and acclaimed PlayStation software titles from SIE Worldwide Studios. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, SIE is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation and has global functions in California, London and Tokyo.
About RTS
RTS is a new e-sports venture backed by investors, including global entertainment, sports and content company Endeavor. With experience in sports event management, brand consulting and game developer and talent management, RTS is led by CEO Stuart Saw, formerly senior vice president of sports at Endeavor.
About Evo
The Evolution Championship Series (Evo) represents the largest and oldest fighting game tournaments in the world. Evo brings together the best of the best from around the world in an electric display of skill and fun, as players and fans come together to honor the competitive spirit in an open format and see a champion made before their eyes. Evo was founded in 2002 after a series of local arcade tournaments run by Tom and Tony Cannon were first held in 1996.
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