Microsoft has acquired esports company Smash.gg in a deal that expands the Xbox brand's gaming portfolio. As of now, the deal is not expected to result in a change of personnel at Smash.gg, as the esports organization retains the same staff, branding and software. The announcement has only been made through MSN's brand-new esports hub. For now, there has been no word from the Xbox department regarding the acquisition. The MSN esports hub released on its main site back in October.
This move appears to have been made with the Halo series in mind, especially considering that Halo Infinite will release at some point in 2021. Microsoft may be trying to appeal to Halo fans that have expressed their frustration at the lack of attention on lagging pro leagues. This coincides at a time when 343 industries keep losing Halo developers, including multiple lead directors and executive producers. By gaining control of the esports management capabilities Smash.gg brings to the table, Microsoft can begin building a more efficient infrastructure and give Halo fans a big step up in quality whenever Infinite is available. Smash.gg is a private company based out of San Francisco that specializes in hosting and supporting esports tournaments. While its 2015 founding largely focused on Nintendo's Super Smash Bros, the esports organization's services have increased to provide management tools to other titles. The platform has been used to facilitate a wide variety of events, ranging from local tournaments to international competitions.
The announcement has been confirmed by the MSN Esports Twitter account and the esports company's official website. Smash.gg provides services for extremely popular titles, including Rocket League, Fortnite, and Valorant. The esports organizer functions as a platform that is used by organizers to host gaming tournaments worldwide. Its services include data analytics, recording of payments and organizing gaming competitions into competitive brackets.
While the announcement has been confirmed by both Microsoft and Smash.gg, it is unclear at this point how this acquisition will pan out. One possibility is that Smash.gg will simply be added to improve the efficiency of the MSN's esports hub. The hub serves as a useful tool for gamers interested in finding a particular game that is streaming on Twitch.
The esports gaming model represents a lucrative avenue Microsoft appears interested in exploring, as the company's acquisition of Smash.gg suggests. There are emerging signs that esports should no longer be considered an uninteresting way to pass time, with major gaming tournaments like Dota 2's The International and the Fortnite Cup drawing millions of viewers. Additionally, champions of esports tournaments were paid more per-player than the winners of Wimbeldon and The Masters last year. The deal is likely to appeal to a new community of gamers by streamlining the esports hosting services provided by Smash.gg with Microsoft's massive audience.
Source: MSN Esports