IGG, the developers behind mobile strategy MMO Lords Mobile, recently held their Asian eSports tournament, for which the grand prize was $30,000 for the winning team. The event was live-streamed across the globe in multiple languages, and it drew a large crowd.
The South Korean team took the grand prize and were crowned the “Asian Champions.” While FPS and RTS are fairly well-established eSports genres, the mobile MMO strategy genre has had problems being a watchable event, with so many different elements on the screen.
After the event, an IGG spokesperson talked about how they are committed to the mobile eSports scene:
“Strategy game eSports presents unique challenges when it comes to presentation. In addition, the high requirement of visual animation attractiveness makes some MMO strategy games even harder to present as a watchable battle event. Thankfully, we have created a way to present the game that fans love to watch and are continuing to find ways to innovate in this space. IGG wants to invest in mobile eSports and continue to curate an amazing eSports scene.”
Using the event as a major announcement platform, IGG took the opportunity to unveil the game’s new soundtrack, written by famed Hollywood composer Klaus Badelt, whose most popular work includes the soundtrack to Pirates of the Caribbean. The keynote song was performed live by the London Symphony Orchestra.
IGG has continued to add content to their flagship mobile title over the past two years, and at least from the outside, seems committed to continuing down the eSports path, creating a space solely for fans of the genre.
Their Asian events are currently held fairly regularly, but they seem to have restrained in seriously investing in the Western mobile eSports scene as of yet. IGG did not comment on if they will be holding a similar spectacle in the U.S. or EU. However, coupled with Tencent’s recent $15 million investment into mobile eSports, it seems that the industry isn’t going anywhere and will continue to grow for the time being.
