eSports

2020 Was the Year of Possibilities for WePlay Esports

Published

5 years ago

February 10, 2021

Reading Time: 2 minutes

2020 is a year we will always remember, but at WePlay Esports, we will also recall those difficult months for a very different reason. To us, it was a time of growth, change, and exploration.

Last year, the esports media holding company hosted eight events with a total prize pool of $1,605,000. Among them, there was the WeSave! Charity Play online marathon, which raised $188,879 for the battle effort against COVID-19.

A Year Full of Firsts

While the year brought about social distancing, only gathering in small groups, and working from home, it also marked a new direction for WePlay Esports, leading to a handful of firsts. Let’s look at those more closely.

WePlay! Bukovel Minor 2020

WePlay Esports hosted its first Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) event, WePlay! Bukovel Minor 2020, which also happened to be the first of its tournaments to be hosted in a remote location. The Bukovel ski resort in Ukraine made an excellent backdrop for our winter holiday theme and, according to Esports Charts, garnered 233,124 peak viewers and 5,484,237 hours watched. This made it the most-watched Minor in the history of the DPC.

“Fresh from the holiday season, we wanted to hold on to all that revelry and share it with the community we love. So, the WePlay Esports team prepared the biggest gift — a DPC Minor to remember,” says Yura Lazebnikov, Managing Partner at WePlay Esports.

WePlay! VALORANT Invitational

VALORANT brought Riot Games’ free-to-play business model to first-person shooters, and WePlay Esports was one of the first tournament operators to host an event in the new esports discipline. WePlay! VALORANT Invitational was a $50,000 prize pool tournament with a neon cyberpunk vibe. The event became a part of the official VALORANT IGNITION SERIES. According to Esports Charts, running from July 15 to 19, the event secured a peak viewership of 54,021 and 687,359 hours watched. The company learned that half the VALORANT tournament audience was aged between 18 and 24. Additionally, we discovered that those who both watched broadcasts on WePlay Esports’ English Twitch channel and visited the event page on the website, love movies and technology just as much as they do video games.

WePlay Dragon Temple

Before the year was over, we added yet another new discipline, Mortal Kombat 11, to our list, but this also meant we had stepped into a new genre. The $60,000 WePlay Dragon Temple event gained 10,718 peak viewers and 163,401 hours watched with an air time of 29 hours (Esports Charts provided the data). These statistics made it the Mortal Kombat 11 tournament of 2020 ranked second by highest peak viewers and hours watched outside NetherRealm Studios’ official event.

From the wardrobe to stage setup, WePlay Dragon Temple was one of our most impressive productions yet. That we were able to do this during the pandemic year and keep all players, talent, and staff safe is an achievement I’m very proud of,” says Oleg Krot, Managing Partner at WePlay Esports.

Weathering the Storm

The year 2020 will remain in our collective memory as a difficult one, following the hardships experienced worldwide due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, 2020 was not without its merits, as WePlay Esports was able to adapt quickly to the new state of affairs. It was no groundhog day, that’s for sure!

Berlin Gaming Industry

Tom Achsel Joins FACTORY-C to Spearhead “Home of Indies” Communications

Published

2 days ago

January 7, 2026

Wladimir P.

tom-achsel-joins-factory-c-to-spearhead-“home-of-indies”-communications

FACTORY-C, the Berlin-based communications powerhouse specializing in gaming and esports, has announced the appointment of Tom Achsel as Event Communications Manager. Achsel will join the “Home of Indies” team alongside project initiator Christiane Gehrke, focusing on the platform’s global expansion and upcoming presence at Gamescom 2026.

With over a decade of experience in the tech and gaming sectors, Achsel brings a massive professional network and deep operational expertise to the agency.

A Veteran of the Berlin Gaming Scene

Tom Achsel is a well-known figure in the German development community. His career highlights include:

Games Academy: Served as Head of Marketing & Events at one of Europe’s oldest game development institutions.
Games Ground Berlin: Co-founded and led communications for the Berlin Gaming Festival, curating impactful B2B programs and speaker lineups.
IGDA Berlin: Serves as Vice-Chairman, strengthening ties between local developers and the global gaming ecosystem.

Christiane Gehrke, Senior Event Communication & Sales Manager at Factory-C

“Tom knows the indie scene from multiple perspectives and has a sharp understanding of the needs of indie developers,” said Christiane Gehrke, Senior Event Communication & Sales Manager at FACTORY-C. “He brings everything needed to support the continued development of Home of Indies.”

Scaling the “Home of Indies” Platform

Since its debut in 2022, Home of Indies has grown into a central pillar of the Gamescom Indie Area. The platform provides a shared booth for independent developers, lowering the barrier to entry for international studios.

2025 Growth: The booth expanded to 440 square meters, featuring over 50 games from a dozen countries.
New Features: The project recently added a dedicated Spotlight Stage, streaming booths, and professional networking areas via MeetToMatch.

As Event Communications Manager, Achsel will lead the outreach strategy for Gamescom 2026, ensuring that the creative diversity of the global indie scene receives maximum visibility among press, influencers, and players.

The post Tom Achsel Joins FACTORY-C to Spearhead “Home of Indies” Communications appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

BlueBottle

BlueBottle Launches “League Broadcast” SaaS for Streamlined Esports Production

Published

2 days ago

January 7, 2026

Wladimir P.

bluebottle-launches-“league-broadcast”-saas-for-streamlined-esports-production

BlueBottle, the Munich-based esports technology innovator, has officially launched League Broadcast, its professional-grade production software, via a new Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) subscription model.

Announced on January 7, 2026, this B2C release moves the platform from selective partner deployments and its long-standing beta phase into a publicly accessible tool for leagues, tournament organizers, and individual content creators worldwide.

Professional Broadcast Tools for All Tiers

League Broadcast is designed to automate and elevate the visual storytelling of competitive gaming, specifically targeting the League of Legends ecosystem. The software bypasses traditional API limitations by using low-level game data collection to provide real-time, high-fidelity visualizations.

At launch, BlueBottle has introduced a tiered pricing structure to suit different operational scales:

Tier	Status	Key Features	Target Audience
Free	Available	Core overlays, essential team/player data, basic game stats.	Grassroots creators & amateur streamers.
Basic	Available	Commercial usage rights, customizable pre-game elements, professional draft tools.	Semi-pro leagues & small event organizers.
Pro	Coming Soon	Advanced analytics, event-driven automation, premium production tools.	Professional leagues & high-scale live operations.

Supported by Creative Europe Media

The transition to a scalable SaaS model was significantly bolstered by funding from Creative Europe Media, the European Union’s flagship program for the audiovisual and creative sectors. This backing allowed BlueBottle to invest in:

Enhanced Stability: Hardening the software for 24/7 live environments.
Improved Infrastructure: Faster development cycles and dedicated customer support.
Accessibility: Lowering the barrier for European creators to produce “broadcast-quality” content that competes with high-budget international productions.

“This launch represents more than a new pricing model — it’s the moment League Broadcast becomes accessible to the wider esports community,” said Lars Eble, CTO at BlueBottle. “We were able to invest in long-term product quality… ensuring that our B2C customers receive the same level of reliability previously reserved for large partners.”

Strengthening the European Esports Ecosystem

By providing affordable, automated tools for real-time data visualization—such as dynamic gold graphs, inhibitor timers, and 3D in-world branding—BlueBottle is positioning itself as a core infrastructure provider for the digital media age. The platform allows smaller organizations to monetize their formats more effectively through professional-looking sponsor placements and deeper viewer engagement.

The post BlueBottle Launches “League Broadcast” SaaS for Streamlined Esports Production appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Akshat Rathee

Indian Esports 2026: Strategic Growth and the Asian Games Milestone

Published

3 days ago

January 6, 2026

Wladimir P.

indian-esports-2026:-strategic-growth-and-the-asian-games-milestone

The Indian esports landscape is transitioning from a period of rapid “spectacle” growth to a phase defined by lasting institutional structure. Following the implementation of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act (PROGA), 2026 is set to be the year where regulatory clarity, international competition, and domestic grassroots development converge.

The Impact of PROGA: Policy into Practice

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act (PROGA), signed into law in August 2025, has officially moved from policy to practice. Its primary contribution to 2026 is the explicit separation of esports from money-based gaming.

Legitimacy: By categorizing esports as a legitimate competitive pursuit, PROGA has unlocked state-level adoption and cleared the way for schools and colleges to integrate gaming into their sports frameworks.
Commercial Confidence: With a clear regulatory environment, brands in sectors like FMCG, automotive, and BFSI are now viewing esports as a stable, long-term youth engagement platform rather than a risky experiment.
Athlete Pathways: PROGA facilitates the creation of standardized national registries for athletes, ensuring that competitive integrity is maintained across grassroots and professional tiers.

The Asian Games 2026: A Global Stage

The Asian Games 2026 in Aichi and Nagoya, Japan, serves as the most critical milestone for the ecosystem this year.

Medal Status: Esports will feature as a full medal event with 11 confirmed titles, including League of Legends, PUBG Mobile (Asian Games Version), and Pokémon UNITE.
Indian Prospects: India’s best historical result (quarter-finals in League of Legends at Hangzhou) has set a high bar. For 2026, the focus has shifted toward high-performance training camps and long-term athlete mentorship to secure a podium finish.
Multi-Sport Integration: Participation alongside traditional athletes reinforces the narrative that esports is a viable professional career, further encouraging government investment through schemes like Khelo India.

Market Evolution and Key Trends

The Indian gaming market is projected to reach approximately $5.02 billion in 2026, driven by a massive player base exceeding 500 million gamers.

Trend	Impact in 2026
Mobile Dominance	Over 95% of the market remains mobile-first, fueled by 5G expansion and affordable hardware.
Beyond BGMI	2026 is seeing a push to diversify the market into fighting games, sports simulations, and PC titles to avoid “one-title dependency.”
Monetization Shift	Revenue is shifting from pure advertising toward battle passes, subscription models, and in-game progression.
Tier II & III Growth	Most new user acquisition is coming from smaller cities, demanding more vernacular and localized content.