Amazon Poised to Influence the Growth of E-sports

E-sports is a growing industry. As interest grows in gaming as a spectator sport, we’re starting to see heavy investment in the sector, to the point that companies are considering purpose built arenas for e-sport events. Given the interest in the market, Amazon’s acquisition of Twitch and subsequently GoodGame, an e-sports advertising and talent agency, makes a lot of sense. GoodGame is a talent and content agency that brokers deals between e-sports stars and brands that want to market in the sector. “We made a decision to become a full service agency, working with third-party teams and broadcasters to help them grow via merchandising, endorsements and custom content,” GoodGame CEO Alexander Garfield told VentureBeat. GoodGame also organizes e-sport events and manages professional teams. In truth, Twitch acquired GoodGame, not Amazon, but it’s a clear move from Twitch to expand their offerings for both their talent and their content. The backing by Amazon may have given Twitch the ability to make this move, but the figures are undisclosed and it’s unlikely that Amazon was involved directly in the deal. “The acquisition will allow Twitch to harness GoodGame’s unique service package, as well as its staff’s industry expertise and community leadership, in order to offer an even broader array of support and monetization opportunities to the greater Twitch community,” an official release reads. Many were surprised when Amazon purchased Twitch; the rumors pegged Google and YouTube as the most likely company to acquire the streaming network. Around the time of the acquisition, ReadWrite editorial producer Stephanie Chan wrote about how Amazon had been investing in gaming, and that the Twitch acquisition was Amazon expanding horizontally into the video game space. “Having a foot in spectator gaming is already access to a huge pile of revenue, and then to be able to have a direct line to integrated ads and games buying? The potential for earnings through Twitch, for now, seems limitless,” Chan wrote. Given that e-sports is expanding radically, to the point of getting airtime on cable TV, Twitch could prove lucrative just in terms of revenue. If the company can leverage its power when it comes to digital games downloads and online video distribution, Amazon could have a hand in the growth of the whole e-sports industry.

Social Pro Daily

Amazon Poised to Influence the Growth of E-sports

The acquisition of Twitch and the GoodGame talent agency could make Amazon a powerful player in the e-sports industry.

Kimberlee Morrison

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Kimberlee Morrison