Twitch, the Amazon-owned social video and gaming hub, has joined hands with Super Evil Megacorp, creators of Vainglory, to venture into the new big scene of multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA). The multi-million dollar investment will be a stakeholder in the eSports world of touchscreen MOBA games.
With the three-year partnership, Twitch takes its first steps to help create the official Vainglory championships and eSports programs in North America and Europe. Vainglory has managed to stun even its makers by building up a viewership of 150 million minutes on Twitch, and currently boasts of a sizeable audience comprising both spectators and professional players who participate actively in the tournaments.
Upon stepping into the new territory of gaming leagues, Twitch reportedly stated, "This new partnership will allow us to bring you the best and more frequent coverage of official Vainglory League events. All just in time for the new spring VGL season."
The much awaited Spring season begins from March 31, with a whopping prize pool of $80,000, which is still a relatively small sum compared to the big PC leagues. Of course, the big competitive leagues have always been PC's domain, but mobile phones are fast catching up, mostly touchscreens.
"The eSports industry has been dominated by PC and console titles, but Vainglory is ushering in a new mobile games movement," the director of eSports operations at Twitch, Nick Allen, said. "The incredible engagement Vainglory has garnered on our platform is testament that our community welcomes the convergence of esports and mobile gaming."
Super Evil Megacorp's COO and Executive Director Kristian Segerstrale said they have a dedicated team of 45 for Vainglory, which, thanks to its meteoric rise to popularity, has garnered financial backing from big names like General Catalyst, Index Ventures, ZhenFund, Yuri Milner, Signia Venture Partners, CrossCut Ventures, The Raine Group, Index Ventures, Korea Investment Partners, Initial Capital, and Jim Breyer of Breyer Capital.
Now touted as "one of the best multiplayer experiences on mobile" and with Apple's Design Award under its belt, Vainglory has come a long way since it made its appearance on iOS in late 2014 and on Android last July. With Twitch's over 100 million membership, Vainglory is poised for far greater reach and growth through streamers and eSsports broadcasts.
Photo: Official GDC | Flickr
