Hitbox has focused on its technology since launching two years ago. The company has attracted over 50 million uniques to date, and has just surpassed 1 billion views. On Dec. 6, Hitbox held a 4K Heroes of the Storm exhibition match at KaoS Industries Studios in the Netherlands featuring G2 eSports, TCM Gaming, Team Liquid, and Virtus Pro with $4,000 in prizes. The livestream of the event can be viewed here.

Martin Klimscha, CEO and co-founder of Hitbox, talks about the platform’s success and explains why technology will play an important role in future growth in this exclusive interview.

How many viewers have you grown to since launch

It’s a perfect time to ask about that, as we’ve just reached 50 million unique users on the platform since we launched two years ago. We’re also celebrating that we’ve hit more than 1 billion views this month. Being first to bring new technology and features to our broadcasters, as well as our focus on games, has helped us grow.

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Martin Klimscha, CEO, Hitbox

What type of 4K gaming audience is there out there on the PC side

Hardware adoption is still growing, but shipments grew 600 percent last year and today you can grab a great 4K monitor for less than $400. More and more PC games are getting released with 4K level graphics, including recent AAA titles Star Wars Battlefront, Fallout, FIFA, Tomb Raider, Witcher 3, and Black Ops 3. These games look stunning in 4K, and we will see more games with a focus on 4K that push the boundaries of game textures.

How important is 4K to gamers, especially with no consoles supporting 4K at the moment

Exactly, “at the moment” PC gamers have a long tradition of leading consoles in tomorrow’s gaming technology so it’s only a matter of time before consoles catch up. Every major consumer tech company is investing in 4K, and I can’t imagine Sony and Microsoft not considering it for consoles in the near term. Our development team has always pushed forward to be the first in key technologies that make watching games and interacting with friends more fun.  We know our community will want 4K soon, and now we are ready.

Which PC eSports games support 4K today

All of the top eSports games look best in 4K. Given the need to showcase games on big screens and show all of the intricate, blazing fast action, we’ll soon see more titles built from the ground up with 4K in mind.

How important is 4K for developers and leagues that show events on huge screens

ESports events are exploding, and just like in traditional sports, fans want to gather to cheer on their favorite teams. Huge screens make them feel like they are sitting right next to their favorite players, and 4K will give them a much better experience.

Azubu recently told me all streaming companies will have 4K at some point soon. What do you feel differentiates Hitbox outside of 4K

We are absolutely convinced that 4k is the future, and in contrast to other streaming companies, we have been driving technological innovation since day one and see it as an accomplishment that others are following us. And unlike others in this space, we are building our own tech front to back – to offer all the things we ourselves want to experience as gamers and eSports players.

Our advantage has always been in our technology. We’ve never been a company satisfied with our current offering. If there is a new feature or a technology that could make watching games more fun or engaging, we’re going after it, whether the mass market is ready yet or not. Our fans love that about us. We were the first to offer HTML5 chat and video, 1080p 60fps, game integrations, and now 4K at 60fps. Striving to innovate enables us to implement new features that excite our users, including the lowest chat delay in the industry, more opportunities for fans to be expressive with embedded videos and gifs within chat, integrated polls and contests for a more interactive experience, and game integrations to learn more about what they’re watching. And, there’s more to come. 

What does 4K add to eSports

The game publishers, players, and fans who grew up constantly upgrading their PC to play the latest game with the best experience understand why 4K matters. They always drive adoption for new technology in the industry. 4K offers the best viewing experience available; it makes everything you see on the screen better, so we had to have it.

What opportunities does 4K open up with all of the Consumer Electronics companies marketing 4K TVs and monitors this holiday and beyond

With more 4K monitors in the market, consumers have more options and costs come down. But content will drive further adoption, and any of those companies will tell you we need much more content. We want to be a leader in 4K content.  

How did your initial 4K livestream go from an audience perspective

It went great! Heroes of the Storm looked gorgeous in 4K 60fps and we were excited to have some of the best teams compete: G2 Esports, Team Liquid, TCM Gaming, and the 4K Heroes champions: Fnatic. Thousands of viewers tuned in, many were following the results on Twitter, and the crowd grew throughout the event. The chat window was filled with activity and we also got the opportunity to answer a lot of questions about 4K.

How often do you plan on hosting these moving forward

This event was a proof-of-concept test of our 4K infrastructure and we’re in talks with many developers and publishers about the future.

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