Appointment as partner for CoD World League Events

RNS Number : 3787T

Gfinity PLC

05 January 2017

 

Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement that contains inside information according to REGULATION (EU) No 596/2014 (MAR)

Gfinity plc

("Gfinity" or the "Company")

Gfinity appointed by Activision Blizzard to operate two Call of Duty World League, Presented by PlayStation®4 events in 2017

Gfinity plc (AIM: GFIN), a leading eSports business, announces that it has been selected by Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) to organise, run and host two events forming part of the Call of Duty World League, Presented by PlayStation®4 programme at the Gfinity Arena in London during 2017.

Call of Duty is one of the leading and most popular first person shooter game franchises, 'Infinite Warfare' being the most recent addition to the series. The Call of Duty World League, Presented by PlayStation®4 is the official worldwide eSports structure for the game, made up of a series of online events and live tournaments for teams of all levels and delivered through a select network of event partners around the globe.

The first announced tournament Gfinity will host is CWL London with a $25,000 prize pool and CWL Pro points available, taking place from 28-29 January 2017. The second tournament will take place during the summer of 2017, with the naming and date for the event to be confirmed at a later date. Details about how to participate or attend both events will be shared on www.gfinity.net/events.

Neville Upton, Chief Executive of Gfinity, said: "We are proud to be chosen again by Activision Blizzard to host a series of Call of Duty tournaments. This is the fourth year in a row that we have partnered with Activision Blizzard to deliver a series of very popular eSports events. Our team will continue to innovate and deliver world class eSports events which are enjoyed by fans globally and deliver value for our partners."

Enquiries:

Gfinity plc	www.gfinityplc.com
Neville Upton, Chief Executive Officer	Via Walbrook PR
Allenby Capital Limited - Nominated Adviser and Broker	Tel. [phone]
Jeremy Porter / John Depasquale / James Thomas
Walbrook PR (Media & Investor Relations)	Tel: [phone]
Paul McManus / Paul Whittington / Sam Allen	or [e-mail]

About Gfinity:

Founded in 2012, Gfinity has quickly established itself as one of the world's leading eSports companies.  The London-based business enjoys strong relationships with game publishers, players and the wider eSports community and has already built a strong reputation for delivering high quality competitions, both on-line and off-line, and producing industry leading eSports broadcasts.

The Company has over half a million registered users, eligible to compete in its online competitions and stages world leading off-line events, which see the top players in the world, across a range of eSports titles travel to the Gfinity Arena in London to take part in competitions, which are broadcast on-line to millions of viewers around the world.  The Company stages events featuring a number of top video gaming titles, across PCs, consoles and mobile devices.

The Company monetises the strong position that it has created through a combination of sponsorship, advertising, broadcast income relating to Gfinity's own events and through fees received for creating and delivering bespoke events for sponsors and game publishers seeking to engage with the eSports community.

About eSports

eSports (electronic sports) is watching or playing competitive video gaming. Leading titles include League of Legends, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Defence of the Ancients 2 (DoTA 2), Call of Duty and Rocket League. The industry is growing rapidly, with new communities developing around more and more titles. The global eSports market generated US$325 million of revenue in 2015 and is expected to make $463 million in 2016. The global eSports audience in 2015 was 226 million people, 80% under the age of 35 and 70% male (source: Newzoo). Online streaming channels Twitch and YouTube command the biggest audiences, although eSports events are also now being broadcast on conventional TV.  The 2015 League of Legends Championships finals in Berlin were watched by 36 million people, with a peak concurrent viewership of 14 million viewers, while at DotA 2's flagship annual championship 'The International 2016' competitors from around the world competed for a prize pot of over $20 million.

About Activision BlizzardActivision Blizzard, Inc. is an American interactive gaming and entertainment company. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California and founded in 2008 through the merger of Vivendi Games and Activision, the company is traded on the S&P 500 and NASDAQ under the ticker symbol NASDAQ: ATVI. Activision Blizzard currently includes five business units: Activision, Blizzard Entertainment, Major League Gaming, Activision Blizzard Studios, and King Digital Entertainment.

 

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