Wargaming plays a big part in eSports, with such competitive titles as World of Tanks and World of Warplanes. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that the company recently made an investment to expand the eSports side of the business.
CEO Victor Kisyli has confirmed that the company, in an effort to respond to the demand of devoted players, will invest $10 million this year into the eSports division, up from the $8 million invested last year.
There’s a huge boost of interest in World of Tanks when it comes to eSports, with over 200,000 players taking part in over 1,000 tournaments using the free-to-play game.
“With our eSports team we founded a company within the company,” said Kisyli. “They take care not only about game features to cater to spectators, but also about the physical organization of the tournaments.
“In the beginning, it was not so much us who wanted to introduce World of Tanks to eSports, it was the players themselves who wanted to be more competitive.”
World of Tanks is highly popular online, with over 80 million registered players.
Source: GamesIndustry International
