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The world’s largest fighting game tournament, Evolution Championship Series, has been bought. Who owns the brand now? Sony Interactive Entertainment.
According to an announcement from Sony, the tournament organization’s co-founders Tom and Tony Cannon will be staying on-board as key advisors. Sony has also acquired RTS, a new esports organization formed by sports marketing company Endeavor.
Sony’s vice president of global competitive gaming Steven Roberts said the following:
“Fighting games have been a vital part of PlayStation’s legacy and our community since the very beginning, and we’ve been thrilled to partner with Evo over the years. This joint acquisition with RTS marks a new chapter of collaboration with Evo’s co-founders, Tom and Tony Cannon, and their passionate community of fighting game fans.”
So with Sony funding the tournament, will it support non-PlayStation games like Super Smash Bros. Melee, SSBU, and the Xbox-exclusive Killer Instinct? Of course, according to Evo business development lead Mark “Markman23” Julio.
“EVO is still open to all platforms. The teams at PlayStation and RTS are enabling us to continue working with our community to support fighting games.”
That’s good to know, but we’ll need to wait for the games line-up in the coming months. So far, these multiplatform games are confirmed:
- Tekken 7
- Street Fighter 5
- Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate
- Guilty Gear Strive
Speaking of which, Evo 2021 Online is slated for 6th to 8th August and 13th to 15th August. The tournament is free to enter for all for the following eligible countries:
United States, Canada, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Venezuela, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Ireland, UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Slovakia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Western Russia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
Yep, Southeast Asia is eligible to enter this year’s EVO tournament. You can register here.
